Learning to Love Without Sake Part 2: Impregnating Byakuya
by Spunky0ne
Summary: Although Byakuya made a promise to Renji to carry their next child, Renji begins to wonder if he ever will...His attempts to follow through result in the unexpected...mpreg
1. Morning at the Manor

**Learning to Love Without Sake 2: Impregnating Byakuya**

**By Spunky0ne**

**Chapter 1: Morning at the Manor**

Byakuya stirred in his sleep and drew in a soft, waking breath. He longed to sink back down into slumber again and spend the entire day right where he was, but this day was to be an important one for the Kuchiki family. Still, there was, he thought, time to indulge in his favorite sinful pleasure...the handsome, red-haired man whose strong, muscular and beautifully tattooed body laid naked and entangled with his.

There was sensual loveliness to the markings, and Byakuya enjoyed them immensely. Whether they were proudly displayed in broad daylight or seductively cast in evening shadows. Whether moving swiftly with him as he fought, or rising and falling softly as he slept in Byakuya's arms. Renji's tattoos were an immense source of attraction and stimulation that had the tendency to cause the usually placid clan leader to connect with the livelier spirit that had inhabited him at an age before responsibility had taken its toll.

And Renji wasn't just pleasing to look at. He piqued Byakuya's other senses as well. Having lived in the lower Rukongai for much of his early life, he deeply appreciated warm baths at the manor (and appreciated even more the privilege of sharing them with Byakuya) and was fastidious about hygiene. He had a rich, masculine scent that Byakuya genuinely craved. Scenting Renji had the tendency to make the clan leader's heart rate increase, to tease a reaction in his loins and to leave him with a light-headed, amorous feeling.

And as good as Renji smelled, he tasted even better. His kisses could be warm and sweet or hot and heady. And where the lighter parts of his skin were calmer, the black tattoos even tasted dangerous. And Renji's seed was like liquid fire. Whether savored orally or filled inside as Renji laid, sprawled languidly across the noble's naked back, it was an indulgence that left Byakuya weak and fluttery for some time after.

He was careful not to admit to how much he enjoyed the latter, but he had the feeling that the fact was not lost on Renji.

"Mmmnnn," Renji sighed, his fingers moving where they had entangled themselves in Byakuya's silken hair, "S'time t'get up yet?"

Byakuya nudged his way more deeply under the redhead's chin and breathed in deeply.

"We have a little bit of time to...wake ourselves fully," the noble answered.

He latched on to the redhead's tattooed throat, sucking warmly. Renji's warm, flaccid member twitched, where it touched Byakuya's thigh, and began to harden. His rough hands slid down the noble's slender back, curved around his bottom and pulled gently to entice him into thrusting. Byakuya shifted slightly to bring his own growing arousal into contact with Renji's and let his lover's hands set the pace of his movements. He broke away from the redhead's throat and sank into his mouth, closing his eyes and feeding hungrily on the emotion beneath their intense kisses.

Renji's finger teased his nether region, and Byakuya opened his eyes and narrowed them, wanting to let himself fall easily, but choosing to provide more of a challenge. Renji smirked at the stern look he had earned and returned Byakuya's soft glare with a decidedly smoky, predatory gaze. Byakuya pulled away and rose onto his knees, letting his opened yukata fall away and waiting to see what his lover would do in response. Renji shook off his yukata and crawled forward, looking much like a tiger stalking its prey. His red-brown eyes locked on the noble's and he moved forward on hands and knees, then paused as he reached Byakuya and bent to offer his lover a teasing lick. Byakuya's eyelids fluttered and his expression warmed slightly. He parted his thighs, watching intently as Renji stretched out, gracing the noble with an enticing view of the tattoos that danced down his shapely back. He placed his hands on the noble's sensitive inner thighs and began a slow exploration, savoring the soft, flushed skin. Byakuya's eyes calmed and grew tranquil and hazy as Renji's mouth pleasured him, as the redhead's tongue teased him. A sweet, longing sigh escaped Byakuya's parted lips, making Renji smile and tempted him into seeking the noble's entrance again. He waited until Byakuya's body tensed in reaction to the pleasure Renji was giving him, then slowly began to prepare him. And for all that Byakuya tried to give him that look of challenge again, the redhead answered by increasing his pleasure so that everything left Byakuya's mind and body but opening itself to what his lover offered. His head fell back and his hips rose. He made a deep, husky sound of surrender and released. Renji closed his eyes and swallowed several times, then slowly and indulgently licked away the bits that had escaped. He climbed onto his knees, continuing the slow preparation, then wrapping his other arm around Byakuya and bringing their mouths together again. Byakuya's tongue thrust deeply into the redhead's mouth, treasuring their sweet and savory mingled essences as Renji abandoned all pretense and moved into position to take him.

Byakuya moved easily with him now, letting himself be brought down onto his back as he gazed at Renji through sleepy, half-lidded eyes. Their eyes locked, then he took his lover the way Byakuya favored...in one beautiful. lightning fast thrust that made the noble gasp and clench the redhead's shoulders tightly as the shock of it passed through him. Renji waited a moment for the deep breath of recovery that followed, then began to move. Byakuya's legs wrapped around the redhead's powerful body and his mouth indulged Renji's in hard, biting kisses as they raged hotly against each other ascending a lovely pinnacle, pausing for one breathless moment at the edge, then plunging headlong into the blinding abyss of mutual orgasm. Renji's naked, sweaty body collapsed onto Byakuya's and both men went still and quiet, enjoying the delicious hum of satedness that enveloped them. They had nearly succumbed to sleep again when a boy's voice rang out in the gardens outside their room, sharp and angry, shattering the peaceful afterglow.

"Get _off_ of me, you horrid beast! Why do you _do_ that, anyway? It's not proper _nor _ladylike. But then, I guess you wouldn't know what ladies were like, eh Tora?"

Byakuya bit his lip and let out an annoyed breath as Renji rolled his eyes and began to disentangle himself from the noble.

"Take it back!" their daughter's voice demanded.

"Get off of me and we'll talk!" snapped Takao.

"You take it back first or I'll pound you!"

"Ow! Get...your...ugly...beastly...butt...off...of me!"

"Stop it, you two!" hissed another girl's voice, "Uncle Bya and Uncle Ren are still sleeping!"

"Not anymore, we're not," growled Renji, tying his yukata back in place and opening the garden doors, "What's all of the racket about?"

He glared down at the feisty, five-year-old redhead, who sat on her slightly older cousin's back, where Takao laid, sprawled on his stomach.

"Make her get _off_ of me, Uncle Renji!"

"I was just _training_ with him, Daddy Ren!" objected the girl.

"Akitora," Byakuya said calmly, appearing in the doorway next to Renji, "We have discussed this. If both parties agree to the activity, it is training. If one forcibly involves another in the activity, then it is..."

"I know," said Akitora her face falling cutely, "It's a sneak attack...and it is not acceptable."

"Exactly," agreed the noble, "Now, help your cousin up and apologize."

Akitora pursed her lips and climbed off of Takao's back, then offered the boy a hand. Takao pulled away and climbed to his feet, then stood, brushing the grass off his hakama.

"Apologize," Byakuya said again.

The girl frowned and narrowed her eyes.

"I'm sorry for waking you Daddy Bya and Daddy Ren," she said contritely.

"Hey!" yelled Takao, "He meant for you to apologize to _me_, you brat!"

"Takao," said Tetsuya, appearing on the walkway with a sleepy looking Tomio a step behind, "I've told you there is no excuse for name calling."

"But she _jumped _on me and wouldn't get off of me!" the boy objected, "She gets away with _everything_!"

Tetsuya glanced at the sullen girl, then back at his son.

"Daddy Tetsuya," said Kiko, fastening her pretty blue eyes on him, "I don't think that Tora really meant any harm. She was just playing and Takao overacted."

"I think you mean he _overreacted_," Byakuya corrected her, smiling, "But although she was just having fun, it is only fun if both parties agree to it. Do you understand, Akitora?"

The girl's eyes widened and she swallowed hard, looking up into her father's stern, but not unkind expression.

"Y-yes, Daddy Bya," she said obediently.

"Have the three of you prepared yourselves for Tetsuya's induction?" asked Byakuya, changing the subject.

"Yes, sir," the three children said together.

"Good," the noble said, nodding, "Then go and sit down for breakfast. We will be there in a few minutes to join you. And Akitora...?"

"I know, Daddy Bya," the girl said, sticking out her lower lip slightly, "No tackling anyone on the way."

"Or shoving them in the koi pond!" added Takao.

"Or tripping, poking, nudging or otherwise annoying them," added Renji.

The red-haired girl frowned, but said nothing more. She waited until Takao passed her, then stuck her tongue out at him behind his back. Byakuya cleared his throat softly and the girl froze and neutralized her expression. She gave a heaving sigh and followed her cousins to the table.

Byakuya and Renji turned back into their room and hastily dressed.

"How do you do that?" Renji asked, shaking his head, "All you do is tell her to do something and she hops to. Me she just laughs off...or tries to tackle."

"It is a matter of presence and habit, I suppose," Byakuya answered, pulling up his hakama and setting his shihakushou in order.

Renji let out an aggravated sigh and continued to dress, while stealing glances at his handsome mate in the mirror.

"You're really good with kids," the redhead commented.

Byakuya paused for a moment, looking into Renji's eyes in the mirror.

"We could probably have a hundred and you would have them out there lined up in rows every morning and doing practice drills."

Byakuya read the touch of melancholy that had risen on Renji's face and turned to face him.

"Abarai, you are a good father too. Akitora is a very spirited child."

"Yeah, that's my fault," Renji said, smiling and shaking his head, "I gave her those genes...and we freaking pay for it too."

Byakuya yielded him a small smile and a gentle kiss.

"You might remember that I wasn't always so disciplined," the noble said, looking up into Renji's troubled eyes, "Everyone thought I was a brat...and they were, most likely, correct. I grew out of it...and being that Akitora is the heir to the clan leadership, she will, soon enough, be tasked with enough to cool those fires."

Byakuya's gray eyes misted slightly with memory.

"And hopefully, even as she does, she will find someone who helps her to keep those fires alive inside her."

Renji's lips curved upward.

"Is that what I do for you?" he asked, slipping his arms around the noble, "Keep your internal fires lit?"

Byakuya's smile widened.

"Baby races...water slides...tag in the meadows by the lake. Making me lie under the stars and tell back every story that my father once told me...baking cookies in the middle of the night...indulging in matchmaking for Matsuko and Makoto. Renji, I cannot begin to tell you how much you enrich my life. Don't worry about Akitora. Don't blame yourself for what she is like. She is her own person. We can teach her...train her to be a strong leader. But she will make her choices about a good many things. We simply must do our best to set a good example and to guide her as best we can. I have every confidence she will do well."

"Yeah," said Renji, looking somewhat more cheerful, "I suppose you're right."

"Come now," Byakuya said, tying the belt at the redhead's waist, "We don't want to keep everyone waiting. We'll need to be on time to Tetsuya's ceremony. As a taichou and a taichou initiate, it is our job to set an example for my newly appointed fukutaichou."

Renji nodded.

"I'm really glad that the council approved his appointment," he said, "I know council members aren't usually allowed to join the military."

"But given that my trusted fukutaichou of many years was leaving, they thought it best that one of Tetsuya's caliber be installed to ensure my protection."

"Hmmm," said Renji, his brown eyes narrowing, "I don't know that I like someone else guarding your body."

He wrapped his arms around the noble and sank languidly into his mouth for several lusty kisses.

"Tetsuya is my brother," Byakuya reminded him, "And he, like you, has ban kai. But even if the situation was less acceptable, you have waited long enough. I am very much looking forward to placing your haori on your shoulders."

"I'm looking forward to that too," said Renji, smiling and kissing him again, "And at the same time...I'm not. I'm going to miss being with you like we have been all of this time."

"What?" Byakuya asked sedately, "Late nights...missed time with your younger friends...the constant weight of expectation and responsibility?"

"Well, it's not like I'm getting away from it. I'll just be spending those long evenings away from you...going on missions without you beside me. Yeah, I put it off. The promotion is a great honor, but I am really going to miss you...my Taichou."

"We will see plenty of each other," Byakuya assured him.

Renji shook his head gently.

"You know that the first few years they will give me lots of field work to help me gain experience."

"I am aware," said the noble, "But we will manage just fine."

Renji let out a soft breath.

"What about that second baby? I thought that maybe now...before everything gets really crazy, we could..."

Byakuya bit his lip gently.

"Renji, you just acknowledged that you will be gone a lot during the beginning of your tenure as a taichou. How would we manage paternal bonding under such circumstances...conjugal visits on the battlefield? I think not. I think we will simply have to wait until things are not in such disarray."

Renji held the noble's eyes for a moment, then lowered his.

"You...ah...sure you're not just having second thoughts? I mean, I know you aren't thrilled about carrying a child, but..."

Byakuya leaned forward and kissed the words away.

"I promised that I would bear our next child," Byakuya said firmly, "And I will."

"Right," Renji said very softly as Byakuya turned and left the dressing area, "but when?"

He flinched as a crash sounded out in the gardens and Takao and Tora's voices rose again. He closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh of resignation, then shook his head and flash stepped towards the gardens.


	2. Liquid Frenzy

**Chapter 15: Liquid Frenzy**

"Why are you hiding back here, Baka?" asked Rukia, looking into the servers' preparation room that looked out into the gardens, where Tetsuya and Tomio were at the center of a throng of dancing couples.

Renji gazed with mixed feelings of happiness for Tetsuya and sadness for himself, at the sight of the sixth division fukutaichou's badge that decorated the younger man's new shihakushou and the new, pale blue fingerless gloves that had been a gift from Byakuya, upon his brother's promotion.

"You know, everyone is out there dancing," Rukia went on, "Urahara-san and Ichigo, Chad, Uryu, Orihime, Hisagi-san, Rangiku-san, Ikkaku and Yumichika, Hitsugaya taichou and Momo-chan. Even Ichigo and Uryu's fathers are here. And everyone is dancing..."

She looked back at the dancers and chuckled.

"And drinking up a storm. The Kuchiki elders didn't even leave. They and more than a few family members are still here enjoying the party. Come on."

"My dance partner is expected to sit out this kind of revelry," Renji sighed, "We danced together earlier, during the more reserved, family appropriate portion of the celebration. He's already gone to bed."

"Well, there are plenty of people who are still up and willing to dance with you. I'll dance with you. We need you to liven up the party."

Renji gave a short, half-hearted laugh.

"Yeah, well, in case you've forgotten, I'm about to become a taichou. I'm also married to Byakuya. I can't be out there getting drunk and crazy like I used to...and I really don't want to embarrass myself and alienate my friends by going out and refusing to act like the person they expect. I knew what I was giving up by marrying your brother and becoming a taichou, Rukia. And if that wasn't what I wanted, then I wouldn't have done it. It's just that..."

Rukia let out a breath and moved closer to him, curling an arm around his and looking up at him affectionately.

"It's a lot of change...a lot of responsibility, I know. When you think of how you and I started out, how we lived when we were kids, it seems impossible, doesn't it? But it's amazing what you've become, Renji. You wanted so badly to be strong enough to stand as my brother's equal. And you are. You really are."

She glanced at the dancers again, then up at her friend.

"But just because you have reached that same level as him, doesn't mean that you have to give up who you are, Renji. And if you want to dance and drink with your friends, you can do that without going overboard, and they will understand."

Renji's eyes drifted to where Rangiku and Shuuhei were dancing together.

"I'm kinda worried that someone in particular will get in touch with my crazy side and things could get out of hand. And seeing as how he and I will be taichou and fukutaichou soon, we have to change the way we are around each other."

Rukia shook her head.

"Yeah, I thought it might be a little strange when they chose to make you Hisagi-san's taichou. You two were so wild together before...always livening things up, drinking and dancing together."

"Yeah, we had fun, that's for sure. But we didn't get assigned together to drink and dance. And besides, I am married to Byakuya...happily married. I am never going to give that man a reason to doubt my feelings for him. He's probably feeling jealous already, thinking of how closely Hisagi and I will be working together. He and I both expected I would be assigned to Squad Five. We were surprised, and not in a good way, though he won't admit to what he feels about it. But I think that may be why he went to bed early."

"So why aren't you with him?" Rukia asked.

"Because if I went in there, he would tell me that I am free to enjoy myself. He trusts that I'll remember to honor my places as clan leader's spouse and taichou initiate. He says all of the right things, but I've known him long enough to know that he's unnerved by me working so closely with a younger, former boyfriend. And I admit, it's going to be sort of awkward. Not because we have feelings for each other, or anything, but just because being close again...he's worried that something might...happen."

"You don't worry about that, do you?" asked Rukia.

"Not about me coming on to him," said Renji, "But I _did_ do the leaving. And Hisagi wasn't real happy about it. Still, it was a long time ago. And it's not like there was any drama over it. We were good as buddies, but I realized he wasn't the right person for me. It's just, I didn't realize it until Hisagi and I were sharing an apartment together. It made things messy when I decided to leave."

"I think I understand," said Rukia, "You're worried that now that you've been with Nii-sama for awhile, that Hisagi could think that you might be getting tired of him..."

Renji's eyes grew more troubled.

"And I didn't mean for it to happen, but Hisagi walked in on Byakuya and me talking about me being assigned to Squad Nine. Byakuya had just made a comment as to the amount of time that Hisagi and I would be spending together, and I started to answer, then noticed him walking in. He didn't ask about it, but I hope he didn't think that Byakuya were out of sync with each other, because we're not."

"No?" said Rukia, raising an eyebrow, "Or are you just avoiding a confrontation...him being too reserved with his real feelings, and you being too afraid to talk to him and draw him out?"

"Stop that, will you?" Renji said, giving a sad chuckle and smacking her shoulder lightly, "I'm trying to keep things peaceful around here. That's part of why I thought that if he got pregnant, then things would improve between us. The bonding does a lot to keep us in step, you know. It really brings a couple closer..."

"And what does Nii-sama say about that?"

"I didn't say that to him," Renji admitted, "It would be too humiliating to say out loud that we needed anything to hold us together. We..."

He broke off, staring as he realized that Byakuya had entered the room, and had heard his previous words.

"Shit..."

"Rukia, will you excuse us?" Byakuya said quietly.

"Yes, Nii-sama," Rukia said, turning and flash stepping out the door.

Renji kept his eyes lowered, but couldn't miss how handsome his mate looked in the more casual yukata and robe he wore, with his hair freed of the kenseiken and shining silkenly where it fell around his shoulders and onto the left side of his face. Renji swallowed hard and clenched his fists nervously.

"Renji, calm yourself," Byakuya said, making him look up in surprise, "I am not angry."

"Y-you're not?" Renji asked, hesitantly meeting his husband's dark eyes.

"No," Byakuya went on, "I am...relieved. I know that you have been holding back for some time...and I haven't known what to say to let you know I understand. We're making a difficult adjustment, as welcome as your advancement to taichou is."

"Yeah," Renji said in a long sigh, sinking into Byakuya's arms and touching his forehead to the noble's, "It's been really crazy. And between the preparations for Tetsuya's and my promotions, the kids giving us hell and my being given the ninth division assignment, I haven't known what to do exactly to make things all right between us again. I mean...we're mostly okay, but...sometimes..."

"Sometimes it all becomes too much," Byakuya said quietly, "And the still youthful, burning heart inside longs to be freed."

"You talk about it like you really get it..."

Byakuya gave him an amused look and Renji caught himself.

"Sorry," he laughed softly, "But I still can't picture you that way. I know they all say you were like that, but..."

"You came into my life after the burdens of duty and responsibility had submerged that more willful heart. It is still there, however, and when we are together, it burns hotter and far more tempting than any other time."

Renji's eyes softened and he let out another shaky sigh.

"I love you, Byakuya."

The noble smiled as he claimed the redhead's lips.

"Go. Relax and enjoy yourself. I am not sulking, nor am I upset. I will be waiting for you when you are ready to join me."

He offered the redhead a parting kiss and left Renji staring after him as he disappeared out the door again.

"Fuck...what was I upset about?" Renji murmured dizzily.

"Renji-san," said Kisuke, stepping in from the party in the gardens, "Rukia said that you were hiding in here, still moping over things."

"Kisuke, I'm..."

"Ah," said the shopkeeper, "I know. I know how it is with him. Remember, I've known Byakuya-san since he was a baby...a big, fire-breathing baby that coulda bit the head off an Espada!"

"Shit, are you drunk out of your mind?" Renji asked, looking annoyed.

"Look," said Kisuke, taking an unlabelled bottle out of his shihakushou and banging it down on the table, "I have the answer to your troubles."

"What?" asked Renji, shaking his head, "You _are_ drunk off your ass. Get out of here, will you? I am..."

"I call it Liquid Frenzy," Kisuke said, slurring the words slightly, "You give him a little of this in his evening tea and he will fall on his back with his legs spread and give you that baby you want so bad for him to have. It's the strongest aphrodisiac and fertility booster in the _three worlds_!"

He leaned in close, making Renji laugh good-naturedly and turn his head to avoid the heavy scent of alcohol.

"I'm thinking of giving some to Ichigo. We've been together a while now...and we've been talking about getting married, but he's afraid of pissing off Isshin. Anyway, I think you need this more than I do, so...the bottle's there and I'm going to go out there and have some more fun. Just...one last thing. Make sure you don't drink any with him or when your reiatsu joins while your having sex, you'll be affected too. It's heady stuff...even works on females with other females, you know."

"What? Really?" asked Renji, stifling a harder laugh.

"Yeah, it works in the reiatsu exchange and doesn't require semen to carry it."

"That's...just...insane," Renji laughed, "Forget it. I'm not touching that stuff. Sounds too dangerous."

"Think about it," Kisuke laughed, slipping out the door and standing with his back turned, "I'm not looking..."

"Yeah, right...as if..." Renji muttered, shaking his head, "Get that shit outta here before you start a damned baby boom!"

He turned and followed the path that Byakuya had taken. As he left, an attendant entered the room and set a partially filled punch bowl on the table.

"He said that the special champagne to be added was...ah...here!"

He picked up the bottle Kisuke had set on the table and emptied it into the punch bowl, threw the bottle away, then picked up the punch bowl and left the room, just as Kisuke turned back and walked in again.

"Aha...I thought he protested too much," chuckled Kisuke, "Byakuya-bo, I think you are about to get seriously laid and impregnated! Ah...but at least it will be fun, ne?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"I thought all of the babies had to go to bed," said a sneering voice behind Akitora.

The girl turned her head and observed the boy behind her with a look of disdain.

"Be quiet, Yoichi!" she hissed, "You're as likely to be in trouble for being out of bed as me. So why don't you go run back to your snaky daddy and leave me alone!"

"You little nasty half-blood princess!" the boy said furiously, "I'll get you for that!"

He stepped forward menacingly, but was stopped as a boy's hand clenched the back of his shihakushou and tightened.

"Stop it, Yoichi!" Takao snapped, "You are not permitted to touch Akitora-sama! She is the clan heir and _no one_ may lay hands on her."

"Argh!" snarled Akitora, "Takao, stay out of this! You are always thinking you have to fight for me. But I can whip Yoichi-kun's..."

"I don't think that Byakuya-sama would..."

"Yes, little _precious princess_," said Yoichi, smirking, "I don't think _Daddy Bya_ would be happy seeing his little perfect heir daughter being undignified and fighting with boys. Not that you could hurt a fly with those dull claws of yours."

"OOH!" yelled Akitora, tackling the youth and taking all three children to the ground, "You're going to...pay!"

"What is going on here?" said Tetsuya's voice as he came around the edge of the hedge the children were hiding behind, "You three were making an awful racket."

The three stunned children came to their feet and backed away from each other, brushing the dirt from their clothes.

"That crazy girl tried to attack me," Yoichi said, crossing his arms and glaring at Akitora, "Then that brat tried to hold me down while she did it! They are both out of their minds, if you ask me. My father is right! Filthy mixed blood freaks!"

He flash stepped away, leaving Tetsuya alone with the two downcast children. He bit his lip, studying his son's clenched hands and Akitora's shaking shoulders, then shook his head disapprovingly.

"I know that his words are troubling," he said quietly, "As much as the intolerances of the past are fading, there are still those who will hate us for our mixed blood. But...we must not let those voices tempt us into lowering ourselves. We are noble in heart and body, despite what they say. We do not need to fight them with our fists..."

He glanced at Akitora.

"Or kido," he added, "We will not win by taking on their hatred, but by meeting it calmly and continuing in our path. Go to bed, now."

"D-dad?" Takao said quietly, "You're...not going to tell Uncle Bya and Uncle Ren about what she did, right? No one really got hurt or anything."

"W-well," Tetsuya began.

"Stop always trying to act all big like that!" Akitora said angrily "I don't need you to fight for me and I don't need you to apologize for me, either!"

"_Akitora_!" said Byakuya's voice, freezing the girl in place and making her eyes widen.

She stared up at the frowning noble silently, hardly noticing Takao as he stepped forward.

"It...Yoichi started it, sir," Takao said.

"Go with Tetsuya," Byakuya said quietly, "Renji and I need to speak to our daughter."

"Y-yes, Uncle B-bya," Takao said, turning to follow Tetsuya back to the children's bedrooms.

Akitora continued to stare through wide eyes, sweat breaking out on her forehead and her hands shaking softly.

Byakuya gazed down at her sternly.

"You have been warned not to let Yoichi tempt you into acting rashly."

"We know he's a pain," acknowledged Renji, "but you can't let him get to you. Like it or not, you are the Kuchiki heir. And that means..."

"I know," the girl said, sniffing softly, "I have to act properly."

"It is important to remember that, as our daughter, you need to be someone that others can look up to. It doesn't mean that you won't need your anger, or even fight sometimes, but there are times to fight and times to hold back."

Akitora's lip trembled and tears filled her eyes.

"Well, sometimes I don't want to _be_ looked up to!" she half-sobbed, "Sometimes I wish I could be like Daddy Ren was and run wild in the streets! At least then I could have fun like other kids do! I don't want to _be_ a stupid princess! I hate people thinking I'm different. I just want to be like everybody else!"

"Tora..." Renji began.

The girl flash stepped away, leaving her fathers staring after her. Renji swallowed hard and cleared his throat.

"I...I'll go and talk to her."

Byakuya continued looking after her with oddly sad eyes.

"I know how she feels," he said softly, "I remember."

"I know you do," Renji said, smiling and kissing him on the cheek, "But I know how to calm her down."

"Yes," Byakuya said, lowering his eyes, "she doesn't need someone to make her feel worse by pointing out her mistakes and reminding her that she isn't allowed to make the ones everyone else does."

"Hey...it's not your fault. You know that growing up noble isn't easy. You demand a lot from her, but you love that little girl more than anything, and Tora knows that."

Byakuya said nothing, but nodded briefly.

"Go on, then," he urged the redhead, "I do not like her being so distressed."

Renji turned back and surprised the melancholy noble with a long, open-mouthed kiss.

"Why did you do that?" Byakuya asked softly.

Renji grinned.

"I guess I don't like seeing either one of you distressed," he laughed gently, "Go on to bed. I'll be there in a bit."

"Renji..."

"Hmmm?"

"Arigato."

"No problem," the redhead said, flash stepping away.


	3. A Night to be Forgotten

**Chapter 3: A Night to be Forgotten**

**(Thanks going out to unsigned readers Byakuyafangirl (That sake is a disaster waiting to happen! LOL), Mimi (The children will play a significant role in the story and I will try to keep the updates moving at a good clip to keep the momentum going), D-chan (Akitora is a spirited girl, much like her red haired daddy. She's a challenge, but who can resist a little firecracker like that? Daddy Bya may be strict, but he and Renji both adore their little girl), and 'T' (Hmmm...) Ah, and just so you guys know, a lot of what you see in this fic with Akitora is based on actual five-year-olds I have known. Kindergartners are so darned cute!)**

Renji heard the soft sounds of sniffing and muffled sobs as he approached his daughter's room, and paused for a moment outside the door to take a steadying breath and think of the best way to approach her. Behind him, Byakuya concealed himself in the shadowy section of the garden, listening quietly and stealing solemn glances at the moon. Renji approached Akitora's bed and sat down next to her, where she laid facedown, sobbing into her pillow. She felt the bed move and sat up, rubbing her eyes and sniffing. Her lower lip trembled cutely as she seemed to struggle with herself for several long moments before throwing herself against Renji and starting to cry again.

Renji held the crying girl against him, rubbing her back gently and touching her hair lightly. He kissed the top of her head and let her release her pent up frustration for several minutes, before she calmed and settled enough to be reasoned with. She clenched the front of his yukata with one small hand and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hey," Renji said, looking down at her, "you okay now?"

Akitora sniffed and rubbed her eyes again, then nodded.

"So, that idiot, Yoichi was giving you some trouble?" he asked.

"He _always_ does that," the girl said, looking exasperated, "He's so mean, Daddy Ren! He keeps calling me a 'half-blood princess' and saying bad things about me. He does that all the time, in front of everybody! Well...maybe not in front of the grown ups, but he does it in front of everyone else. He acts like it's bad that you were not born in a noble family. But there's nothing wrong with being a commoner, ne? Daddy Bya doesn't mind you being a commoner, does he?"

"Hey," said Renji, giving her a meaningful look, "Do you think he would have married me if he minded that?"

"Yoichi said that his daddy, Orochi, told him that the only reason Daddy Bya married you was because he got you '_knocked on_' and then you had me! He said if Daddy Bya hadn't married you that he would have been thrown out of the clan and he would have been a dirty peasant too! I asked him what was wrong with getting dirty. Cause I put some mud on Daddy Bya when we were playing at the lake and he still looked pretty, even with mud all over him...and he wasn't even mad about it, so it's not bad to get dirty or be a peasant, is it?"

Renji bit his lips and stifled a soft chuckle.

"No, it's not bad to get dirty sometimes, or to be a peasant. Tora, I'll admit that I did get pregnant and the clan put pressure on Byakuya to marry me, but here's the truth. He and I were already connected, and we would have fallen in love with each other anyway. And when we took our vows and got married, it was because we wanted to. If Byakuya gave a shit about me being a peasant or if we didn't love each other, we couldn't have said the words in our wedding. We wouldn't have said those things to each other if we didn't mean them. Byakuya and I love each other. Period. End of story."

Akitora gave a sigh of relief and loosened the hand that gripped Renji's yukata.

"I thought Yoichi was stupid and wrong, but he said that the reason Daddy Bya is always mad at me is because he doesn't really like me. He wanted an all noble baby, but the clan forced him to marry you, because he could only knock on you and make you have babies. I told him he was dumb and you didn't make babies by knocking on someone anyway. I even _tried_ knocking on Kiko and Takao and they didn't have a baby! He called me _baka_ and said I don't know _anything_. That's why I threw that rock at him the other day and got in trouble. He always makes me so mad and gets me in trouble!"

Renji bit his lips harder and patted the girl lightly on the back.

"Don't worry about it," said Renji, "Sometimes I feel like throwing a rock at that little brat too. But he's wrong, Tora. Byakuya loves you, and he doesn't give a damn that I'm a peasant, or that you're half peasant. He loves both of us with all of his heart."

"But why does Yoichi say those things? Why doesn't he be nicer to me?" the girl asked, "I even listened to Daddy Bya when he said that I should extend a branch of friendship to him. I broke a branch off that old sakura tree and chased him all around, trying to touch him with it. And he just yelled at me and called me a freak. He's mean to me, no matter what! So Daddy Bya said that if he wouldn't be reasoned with to just pretend he's not there. But even though I don't look at him, I can't stop hearing him. And he always follows me around and says mean things until I lose my temper and try to hit him. Then stupid Takao says it's not ladylike to fight with him and I have to be bigger than that. But I can't be bigger till I grow more, so I'm stuck! Kiko is the only one who understands. She is nice to me, even when those stupid boys aren't."

"Yeah, Kiko is a real sweet girl," Renji agreed, "But you should cut Takao some slack, you know."

Akitora looked up at him with a confused expression.

"What's slack?" she asked.

"I mean that you should realize that when he tries to get between you and Yoichi, he's trying to help you because..."

Akitora sighed and sat up, crossing her arms and frowning.

"I know...he only does that because I am the _princess_ and Uncle Tetsuya makes him show me respect or he punishes him. Daddy Ren, I don't want people to have to be nice to me because I'm a princess. I just want them to be nice because I'm a person. You shouldn't just respect people because they're a princess. You should just be nice to everyone. Daddy Bya is all noble and he says that. Yoichi says that it's because he likes to have sex with peasants."

"Look," said Renji, narrowing his eyes, "Yoichi is a family member, so you do have to learn to ignore what he says more. Just...when he gives you that line of crap, remember that just because he says it, doesn't make it true. The way you make yourself strong against that stuff is by not believing it and not feeling like you have to explain. If he says those things, then just look him in the eye and tell him that he doesn't know what he's talking about. Don't argue with him and don't let him make you mad. He's just full of hot air. What he says is not true, and you know that. Byakuya and I love each other, and both of us are crazy about you. And all the rest doesn't matter because we are a family. We are always going to be together, Tora. And nothing that Yoichi says can change that."

Akitora let her head fall against Renji's shoulder again and closed her eyes.

"You said three bad words," she mumbled sleepily, "You said shit, damn and crap. Daddy Bya might get you in trouble if he hears you talking like that around me."

The two hugged each other and laughed.

"_This is not a bar or the sparring grounds, Renji. This is our home_!" the girl said, mimicking Byakuya's tone almost perfectly, "_I don't mind what you say normally, but Akitora should not hear you talk that way. Kami forbid, she should repeat any of that in front of the elders_!"

"Yeah, well, he's right about that," said Renji, smirking, "I think those old stuffy guys would have a heart attack if you said one of those words in front of them."

"Uncle Tetsuya is not old and stuffy. He's nice. He's like Daddy Bya, but he smiles and laughs more."

She paused for a moment, thinking.

"Maybe Daddy Bya just needs someone to make him happier, so he'll smile and laugh more."

"Byakuya is a happy person, most of the time," Renji said with conviction, "He doesn't always show it the way the rest of us do, but if you are quiet and you watch him for awhile, you'll see how he shows that he's happy."

"Okay," said Tora, yawning, "But can we watch Daddy Bya tomorrow? I'm too tired, and he would only be sleeping anyway."

"Okay, kiddo," Renji said, kissing her on the forehead and tucking her back into bed, "Get some sleep and we'll watch Daddy Bya tomorrow."

"Mhmm," mumbled Tora, "We can go to the lake and I can hide in the tall grass and spy on him."

"That sounds good," said Renji, touching her face with his fingertips, "Go to sleep, now."

"Good night, Daddy Ren."

"Good night, Tora."

"Wait!" the girl exclaimed, sitting up and grabbing his sleeve.

"Huh?"

She stood up and planted two kisses on his cheek.

"One is for you and one is for Daddy Bya," she said, dropping back down on the bed and curling up under the covers.

"I'll be sure he gets that," Renji promised, "I'm sure it will make him happy."

Byakuya's lips curved upward and he started to leave the shadows in the garden to join the redhead. He paused, watching as footsteps sounded on the walkway and Hisagi Shuuhei appeared in front of Renji, carrying two cups in his hands.

"Hey," said Renji, nodding in greeting, "I thought you were out there dancing with Rangiku."

"Well," said Shuuhei, looking around, "Things were starting to wind down, and I wanted to talk to you before I left. I hope that's okay. Here, I brought a cup of the champagne punch. It's really good."

"Thanks," said Renji, taking the cup, "Why don't we take a walk? The kids and Byakuya have all gone to bed, so we don't want to wake them."

"Sure," said Shuuhei, following as Renji started across the gardens.

Byakuya waited until they passed, then watched them go out the back gate and onto the forest trail. He bit his lip gently, considering what he should do, then quietly turned away and walked back to their bedroom.

_Renji loves me. And despite what I feel inside when I see them together, I am not going to mistrust him. That would only make things worse. I have to trust him. If we're meant to be together, then he will not break that trust._

XXXXXXXXXX

"Where have you been?" Tomio asked as Tetsuya returned to the section of the gardens where the party was taking place, "Everyone is starting to go off to bed."

They watched as a giggling Rukia caught Orihime by the hand and led her towards Rukia's bedroom.

"Don't worry about going home tonight," Rukia said, "Kisuke and Ichigo are passed out in one of the guestrooms. We have a lot of people staying over. You can stay in my room."

"Okay," said Orihime, smiling and following Rukia into her room.

"I'm glad our room is in the main wing," said Tomio, laughing softly, "Those two will probably talk all night."

"We would probably get no sleep at all," Tetsuya agreed, sighing, "though after all of that champagne punch we had, sleep shouldn't be a problem. Then again, I feel sort of strange. I don't feel so much like sleeping."

"No?" said Tomio, "Would you like a back rub? Or perhaps a more personal congratulatory oration?"

Tetsuya blushed.

"Not so loud," he complained, "Someone will hear you."

The two men looked around, then Tetsuya scowled.

"Get out of that punch!" he yelled, making Tomio flinch, "Arashi!"

The stallion lifted his head and gave Tetsuya a derisive glare, then careened off through the bushes. Tetsuya let out an annoyed breath.

"Maybe I should go after him and make sure he's all right," he said, frowning.

"Eh, let him go sleep it off," laughed Tomio, slipping an arm around Tetsuya and claiming his lips hungrily, "Come on. Let's go to bed."

Tetsuya looked around at the couples disappearing into the guest rooms, then turned with Tomio and started towards their bedroom.

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya lifted his head off his pillow and looked up at Renji through sleepy eyes as the redhead slipped into the bed with him.

"That took quite a while," he observed, blinking and squinting at the clock, "Is Akitora all right?"

"Oh," said Renji, curling into his arms, "Yeah, she's fine."

"You smell good," the noble said, breathing in deeply, "You should have told me you were bathing. I would have joined you."

"Eh, I didn't want to wake you, and I didn't want to come to bed smelling like what I'd been drinking at the party."

"Oh."

The two fell silent for a moment.

"Renji," Byakuya went on, watching as the redhead opened an eye and focused on him, "I was thinking about something."

"Hmmm?" Renji mumbled, closing his eye again.

"I was thinking about what you said before...about having another child."

"Mhmmm?"

"And...I realized that I was being rather selfish, waiting so long."

Renji opened his eyes and met Byakuya's curiously.

"But...what you said about it taking a long time for you to fully heal, and the fact I'll be gone a lot on assignment after I start up in my new division...that stuff makes sense. I shouldn't have been so pushy. Sorry."

"But...at the same time," Byakuya went on, "Akitora is five years old and...we can certainly make allowances to allow bonding to occur."

Renji sat up, bringing the noble up with him.

"Look," he said, kissing the tip of his lover's nose and then his lips, "If you're not ready, then you're not ready. You don't have to have a kid to prove something to me. It will happen or it won't. And I'm not going to push you any more. One kid or ten, I love you, Byakuya."

"But..." said the noble, paling slightly, "Before, you seemed to want it so badly. And now...you've changed your mind? You...don't want to have another child with me?"

"I didn't say that," Renji said, shaking his head, "I just meant that you don't have to have another kid if you don't want to."

"But," Byakuya said, very softly, "I do."

Renji gazed back at him with a surprised expression.

"You do?" he asked, lacing their fingers together, "Really? Like...now?"

Byakuya smiled and nodded.

"Is that all right with you?" he asked, his arms tightening around the redhead.

Renji gave a helpless laugh.

"Is it all right?" he repeated, seeking the noble's lips again, "Byakuya...We can have as many kids as you want! Anytime you want. I love you."

"I love you too," Byakuya whispered, lowering himself onto his back and watching quietly as Renji opened their yukatas and laid down on top of him, "I don't know what I would do if you ever left me."

Renji's red-brown eyes fixed on his and his hand slid down the noble's slender torso and coaxed his thighs into parting.

"That's never going to happen, so put it out of your head. You don't have to worry about that. And if that's why you're doing this, then we shouldn't. Because you don't have to do anything to make me stay in love with you. I am not going anywhere."

Byakuya's mouth found his and they shared several slow kisses.

"I'm doing this because I want to," Byakuya assured him, "Because I love you. That is all the reason I need."

His eyes went hazy and distant as Renji's mouth busied his, and the redhead's fingers gently prepared him. He closed his eyes and buried his face in a sea of red hair as Renji entered him. His unspoken fears fell away then, disappearing from his mind as their bodies moved together and the pleasure swept over them like a lovely warm wave.

_I was silly to worry about that._

_Renji loves me._

_He would never..._

_Renji would never..._

_No, never._


	4. The Morning After

**Chapter 4: The Morning After**

"Oh...oh fuck..." groaned Renji, grabbing his head and forcing his eyes open.

Bright light streamed in through the open garden doors, making him squint. He gave a pained yelp and held his aching head harder as Akitora landed on the bed, sending jolts of pain and nausea all through him.

"Gah!" he managed, jumping out of bed and barely making it into the bathroom before violently expelling the contents of his aching stomach.

Akitora appeared in the bathroom doorway, wearing a sympathetic look on her young face.

"Sorry, Daddy Ren," she said penitently, "I didn't know you were sick. Daddy Bya sent a hell butterfly and asked me to check on you when you didn't get to work on time."

"W-work?" Renji repeated, his stomach lurching again.

He threw up again, then fell back against the wall, groaning pitifully. Akitora frowned at him.

"Let me guess," he said, studying him, "You don't feel good enough to go to work, ne?"

"Ugh," said the redhead, collapsing onto the floor, "I don't feel good enough to move anymore. Could you do me a favor and send a message to tell him I'm sick?"

"You _too_?" the girl said emphatically, "Both Uncle Tetsuya and Uncle Tomio are sick too!"

"They are?" Renji asked, holding his stomach.

"Mhmm," the girl confirmed, "Matsuko started to make a pot of ginger tea for them, but had to have Mari finish it because she didn't feel so well either. I was worried, but she said that she thinks a lot of people just had too much to drink at the party."

"Yeah," answered Renji, groaning as Akitora helped him to sit up.

"Do you want me to tell Daddy Bya to come home?" she asked.

"N-no," said Renji, "I'll be okay if I just get back in bed, I think."

He climbed onto his hands and knees, but didn't dare try to stand. Akitora chuckled sympathetically and crawled alongside him as he made his way back to the bed and climbed in. Akitora put the covers over him and kissed him on the cheek.

"I will go and see if the ginger tea is ready," she offered.

"Thanks," Renji sighed, sliding down under the covers, "Oh...kami, I feel so awful!"

Akitora flash stepped out the doors, narrowly missing Tetsuya, who stood on the walkway, looking as pale as Renji had and holding his midsection as he talked to Makoto.

"He was gone all night," the animal caretaker told Tetsuya, "Then, he staggered in this morning, looking like he'd been worked over by a bunch of thugs! He was barely on his feet."

"I should go to him," the noble said, starting to move away.

"No, it's okay, sir," Makoto assured him, "I cleaned him up and he is comfortable enough now. He will be all right. I just thought you should know what happened."

"Ah," sighed Tetsuya, "Arigato. Then...if you are sure that he will be all right, I think I will go back to bed. I've already informed Byakuya of my illness, so I am not expected at work today. Thank kami he anticipated that. I feel _horrid_!"

"Get some rest, then, sir. I will tend to Arashi."

"Again, arigato," Tetsuya said, turning away.

He took a few, staggering steps, then started to collapse, but was caught and gently lifted.

"Oh," he sighed, "Arigato...yet again, Makoto."

"Should I call a healer, sir?" Makoto asked.

"No," Tetsuya assured him, "He would only tell you that I shouldn't have over-indulged. The staff is making some ginger tea for us. We should be fine."

"Very well, sir," said Makoto, carrying the pale and sickly looking noble back down the walkway to his room.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Mmmmph," groaned Rukia, shifting uncomfortably to relieve the odd smothering sensation she felt.

She cracked an eye open and was surprised to find herself lying on top of someone, with her face sunk down between a large pair of soft, feminine breasts.

"Wh-what?" she moaned, "Who...?"

"Oh, Rukia-chan, you are awake," Orihime said, sounding pleased, "I have been awake for some time, but you seemed so comfortable there, I didn't want to wake you. Especially after last night!"

"Eh...?" Rukia grunted, lifting her head and realizing that both she and Orihime were completely naked and tightly entangled.

_What?_

"Oh...?" she groaned, "Wh-what happened?"

Orihime giggled.

"You don't remember?" she asked.

Rukia blushed and met her eyes, squinting.

"I...I don't really remember much. I drank some champagne punch or something. I must have had too much. But...why aren't you affected?"

"M-me?" asked Orihime, "Oh, I didn't have the punch. I don't really like champagne. But I was worried about you because you looked kind of pale after drinking it. So when you said I should sleep in your room, I agreed."

She blushed cutely.

"I didn't know that Rukia-chan wanted more than to sleep. I was very surprised. But in a good way!" she said, giggling again.

Rukia disentangled herself from the other girl and turned away, her eyes wide and her mind spinning as she came to grips with exactly what they had done. Orihime went quiet behind her, and the smile left her lips. Her eyes clouded over and tears rose in her eyes.

"Oh," she said, penitently, "You...you...didn't mean it? R-rukia-chan...I...I am sorry! I thought that you liked me that way! That is what you said when you kissed me. I didn't know it was just because you had too much to drink. I am sorry! I am really sorry! Please forgive me, Rukia-chan! I...!"

"It's...it's all right," Rukia said, regaining some composure.

She gathered herself and swallowed hard, then turned to face the other girl.

"Orihime...the truth is...I...am attracted to you," Rukia said, her voice trembling slightly, "I actually have been for a while now. But...I hadn't been able to say anything, because I thought that it would make things awkward between us if I told you, and you didn't feel the same. S-so..."

"Oh! Rukia-chan!" Orihime exclaimed, flying into the stunned shinigami girl's arms, "I do like you that way too! I really do! I am so glad that you feel the same as I do!"

A relieved smile blossomed on Rukia's face and she wrapped her arms around Orihime, hugging her tightly.

XXXXXXXXXX

"K-kisuke?"

Ichigo's unhappy groan made the shopkeeper groan and stir, but he stopped moving as nausea passed over him and his stomach pitched warningly. He was out of bed and had staggered halfway to the bathroom before he realized.

_We're at the shop? When did we come home? I don't remember leaving..._

He barely managed to grab a trash bin before the sickness caught up with him. He heard a flash step and then the sound of Ichigo retching and coughing in the bathroom.

_Shit...what did we get a hold of at that party?_

He threw up into the trash bin again, then looked up as Tessai entered the room and gazed down at him sympathetically.

"Are you okay, boss?" he asked, "You want some ginger tea?"

Kisuke grabbed his stomach and threw up again, then Ichigo's coughs and heaves sounded in the bathroom again.

"Better make it enough for two," he moaned, abandoning the trash bin and crawling back to the bed.

He smiled weakly at Ichigo as the ginger-haired youth staggered out of the bathroom and joined him in bed.

"You don't have anything you have to do today, ne?" asked the shopkeeper, "Because I'm thinking neither of us is going to want to get out of bed today."

"No," yawned Ichigo, abandoning his yukata and pressing his warm, naked body up against Kisuke's, "We can sleep all day, I guess. I feel like hell, and the last thing I want to do when I already feel like crap is to go home. My dad would have my ass if he knew I'd been stealing cups of the champagne punch."

"Hmmm," Kisuke said, sliding a hand down to fondle Ichigo's private, "I know I've already _had your ass_ more than a few times, and I hate to bother you while we're both hung over..."

He sucked in a surprised breath as Ichigo grinned at him, then disappeared beneath the covers, and began to gently assault the shopkeeper's body.

"Hey, Strawberry," he chuckled, remembering Tessai's offer of ginger tea, "better come out from under there and put your clothes on. Tessai's coming in here with some tea. So unless you're planning to offer to let him join us..."

He broke off as the door opened.

"Oh, sorry, Tessai," he began, then he froze, staring where Kurosaki Isshin stood in the bedroom doorway, "Shit..."

Ichigo's head popped up from under the covers and he tackled the stunned shopkeeper, letting the blanket fall away to reveal their naked bodies as he engaged Kisuke's open mouth in a wickedly intense kiss. He froze as the reiatsu in the room suddenly skyrocketed and building began to shake.

"Oh...oh crap! D-dad?" Ichigo stammered, reaching blindly for his yukata, "What the hell are you _doing _here?"

"I was here to bust his ass for giving you booze at the party last night!" yelled the red-faced man, "But...now I have a whole new reason to KILL HIM!"

Kisuke and Ichigo flash stepped away as a kido blast struck the bed they'd been lying in.

"What the fuck? Are you CRAZY?" shouted Ichigo.

"Get your clothes on and go home, Son!" yelled Isshin, "I'll be back as soon as I make sure this guy doesn't have the equipment to commit an offense like that again!"

"Dad, stop! Are you out of your mind?" Ichigo howled, "He didn't do anything wrong! I seduced _him_!"

"Actually, he did," said Kisuke, blocking another hard blast of kido.

"How...dare...you...have...sex...with...my...son!" yelled the elder Kurosaki, punctuating each word with a heavy kido blast.

The wall behind Kisuke caved in, and the shopkeeper backed into the next bedroom, still blocking incoming kido blasts.

"Aw, come on!" complained Kisuke, "You're making a mess of this place! I just got it cleaned up from that...ow!...hollow attack! Ease up, will you? It's not like I hurt the kid. And he had no issues with it. We were both totally consenting."

He realized suddenly that it might have been the wrong thing to say as Isshin's reiatsu swelled in a glowing red aura around him, and the entire shop collapsed around them, leaving only the people within it unscathed.

"Holy wrath of kami..." mused the shopkeeper, staring at the huge pile of rubble that had been his shop.

He went silent again as Isshin grabbed him by the front of the yukata he had managed to salvage and wrap around himself, and dragged him to his feet.

"You touch my son again and what happened to this shop? It will happen to _you_!"

He turned to face a white-faced Ichigo.

"Come on, Son. We'll go home and have some tea and talk about this. I can't believe you would do this. Is this what your mother and I raised? This is disgraceful!" Isshin howled, tearing up, "Your mother would be horrified! How will I tell her about this?"

Ichigo gave Kisuke a helpless look as Isshin grabbed his wrist and dragged him away. Kisuke watched in silence at the spectacle of a now sobbing Kurosaki Isshin, leading his half-naked son away from the ruined shop.

"Oh, hell," sighed Kisuke.

"Here boss, maybe this will help," said Tessai, handing him the last unbroken thing in the shop...the cup of ginger tea he'd been holding when the place came down.

"Thanks..." Kisuke muttered.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Kuchiki taichou," said Rikichi, "A message just arrived from Soutaichou. He said that the afternoon taichou and fukutaichou's meeting has been cancelled due to so many illnesses today. Seems like everyone is suffering from too much celebrating."

"Yes," said the noble, shaking his head, "It does seem that way."

He looked over at Renji's empty chair and sighed.

"Rikichi, I am finished here, and will be returning to Kuchiki Manor for the afternoon. Forward any communications or orders there."

"Hai."

Byakuya placed the last of the finished reports in his outbox and posted the training schedules and squad deployments. Then, he left the sixth division and walked back through the oddly quiet streets, his mind puzzling over what he had seen the night before.

_"Hey," said Renji, nodding in greeting, "I thought you were out there dancing with Rangiku."_

_"Well," said Shuuhei, looking around, "Things were starting to wind down, and I wanted to talk to you before I left. I hope that's okay. Here, I brought a cup of the champagne punch. It's really good."_

_"Thanks," said Renji, taking the cup, "Why don't we take a walk? The kids and Byakuya have all gone to bed, so we don't want to wake them."_

_"Sure," said Shuuhei, following as Renji started across the gardens._

"Why is this still bothering me?" he whispered, "I trust Renji. I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt Akitora and me. Why won't this leave me alone?"

_"That took quite a while," he observed, blinking and squinting at the clock, "Is Akitora all right?"_

_"Oh," said Renji, curling into his arms, "Yeah, she's fine."_

_"You smell good," the noble said, breathing in deeply, "You should have told me you were bathing. I would have joined you."_

_"Eh, I didn't want to wake you, and I didn't want to come to bed smelling like what I'd been drinking at the party."_

_"Oh."_

"I won't think that way," he promised himself, "I am going to trust him. We went through so much, and Renji was with me every step of the way. He won't abandon us."

He forced the concerns away and tried to focus on other things as he neared home. He passed through the gates and hurried down the walkway to the bedroom. He reached it and stepped inside, then stopped, studying the empty bed and carefully made up room. He stood for a moment, lost in thought, then spotted a note by the bed.

_Byakuya,_

_Thanks for not being angry at me for drinking too much and having to stay home today. I know I deserve to have you get pissed at me. Now that I'm promoting, I shouldn't be overindulging and slacking off. I really didn't mean for it to happen, and I will make sure I'm up early tomorrow to help you catch up on things and get Tetsuya settled in._

_I felt better, so I went to check in and have Shuuhei show me around the ninth, so I can get to know the guys in the squad and get them used to seeing me there. I should be home in time for dinner. I'm looking forward to seeing you._

_Love, Renji_

He tried to let the warmth of Renji's words sink down inside, but the presence of the other man's name, and the fact that Renji's first choice had been, not to see to his current responsibilities at the sixth division, but to go to the ninth...

He pushed the thought away and stepped back out onto the walkway and caught sight of Akitora coming out of her room.

"Oh," she said, looking up at him, "It's you. I thought Daddy Ren came back. He went to work with that man friend of his."

"Hisagi Shuuhei was here?"

"Mhmm," said the girl, taking his extended hand and walking out into the garden with her, "He came here earlier and told Daddy Ren that he wanted to show him around where he is going to work. I told him he still looked too sick, but he said he was okay and he went with that guy. But he said that he would be home for dinner."

"Then we will see him at dinnertime," Byakuya said, stopping to examine a newly opened blossom.

Akitora sniffed at the flowers, then looked up at him.

"Daddy Bya?"

"Hmmm?"

"Is it wrong if you kind of don't like someone, but you don't know why?" Akitora asked.

"That depends," he answered, taking her hand again and walking with her out the back gate and onto the forest trail, "Sometimes, we meet someone, and our instincts tell us that we should not trust them. Often, those instincts are right...and we should trust them. But...sometimes, we have those feelings and it turns out they were for some other reason that we don't realize at the time. And sometimes we are wrong."

"So, how do you know whether to listen to your insincts?" the girl asked.

"You should always respect your instincts about people, but before _acting_ on them, you should find out if those instincts are correct or not. Why? Who is it that you are uncertain about?"

Akitora looked uncertain for a moment, then sighed.

"That man who Daddy Ren went with," she answered, "He's nice to me, but I feel quivery inside when he is here. He never did anything wrong or anything, but...I just don't like him."

"But he is your father's friend, and they are going to be working together," Byakuya said, as they reached the top of the waterfall and looked out over the lake and the open meadow, "So you do need to be respectful of him when he is here. But you do not have to be overly friendly. You can simply be cordial."

"C-cordial?"

Byakuya smiled.

"Greet him when he arrives, then excuse yourself and go elsewhere while he is here. And be sure to say a polite farewell when he leaves. That is all."

"Okay," Akitora said, waiting as he sat down, then settling on his lap.

She leaned back against his shoulder, listening to the soothing sound of his voice as he told her one of the thousands of myths he knew from reading books in the archive, then he sat quietly, watching her drift off to sleep and gazing out over the rippling water and grass as the afternoon wore on.

She woke as the light was fading, and the two walked back to the gardens and found that dinner was nearly ready.

"Go and wash up," he instructed the girl, then he watched, smiling to himself as she scampered away.

"Nii-sama?" said Tetsuya.

Byakuya turned.

"F-first, my apologies about missing work today," he began.

"It is all right," he said calmly, "I anticipated that after a large celebration like that, you would likely not be in a fit state the next day. I planned for that."

"Arigato, Nii-sama," his brother said gratefully, "Oh, and word came from Renji-san. He won't be home for dinner, but should return later tonight."

"Hmmm," the noble said in acknowledgment, "Will you excuse me?"

He left the gardens and manor, and walked back towards the sixth division, then remembered that he was supposed to pick up a gift he had ordered for Renji's promotion. He turned down the street that the shop was on and came to a stop, staring in silence.

Renji sat at a table in front of a noodle shop, a few stores away, sitting across from Hisagi Shuuhei, talking and laughing as the two ate.

"Are you sure Kuchiki taichou won't be upset that you didn't come back?" Shuuhei asked.

"I'm sure he's fine with it," said Renji, "He knows I have to get settled in...and there's a lot of stuff we're still going over."

"But I'm sure it could wait until tomorrow if you need to go."

"I told you. It's fine. Byakuya isn't pissy about things like that. He trusts me."

And it was those words that gave him the strength he needed to make himself turn and walk away. He returned to the sixth division, prepared to bury himself in work for the evening. But there was little to do, so he sat at his desk reading quietly, then rose to go home. He looked at the deployments again and realized that the date of the latest had been changed.

_That was supposed to be next week, but the group leaves tonight...and Renji was supposed to go with us. I wonder if he even realizes..._

He stared at the deployment order for a long moment, then set it back down and headed for his quarters to prepare to go. And when the leaving time came and Renji was not there, he calmly picked another team member and left for Hueco Mundo without him.

_It's not really his fault. He wasn't informed of the change..._

But he carefully neglected to address his own choice to not even attempt to call Renji in, but to simply let the matter go.

_Is there such a thing as being too accommodating?_

_And where is the line between being accommodating and being walked on?_


	5. Speaking From the Heart

**Chapter 5: Speaking from the Heart**

Byakuya stood on a barren, sandy hilltop, swollen waves of pink petals dancing all around him. He fought on instinct alone, sending seething cascades of his power out into the reiatsu lit battlefield below him...carefully protecting the ones who fought the hollows hand to hand further down, and watching to be sure the shinigami forces were not overrun. But even as he fought, his mind felt oddly detached from what was happening.

_What is it that I truly fear?_

The roars and screeches of the fighting hollows, the battle cries of the shinigamis both seemed far away.

_I used to fear that he would die, as Hisana did, but more recently...since Akitora transitioned from a baby to a young child, I have felt something different._

He blocked several scathing rounds of blazing ceros and felt their heat singe his skin, where it peeked out from beneath his uniform.

_Renji has been wonderful. Though we both struggle with Akitora at times, we have our own ways of approaching her, and we have learned when each of us should be the one to address her. I guide her carefully in growing as a leader and clan member, and Renji helps her to deal with her burgeoning emotions. There is still pressure, but we approach it in much the same way as we fight on the battlefield, each using his gifts to attack and defend in perfect counterpoint. But as with battle, things can be unpredictable, and we can fall out of sync._

_Is that what this is?_

"Kuchiki taichou! Another wave is coming in!"

He raised his reiatsu and shielded the kido group to give them time to chant their incantations, then sent another heavy swell of bladed petals over the battlefield, angling them around the shinigamis and striking the hollows with deadly precision.

_Renji has been frustrated, and he has seemed to focus heavily on wanting another child. But is it that Renji really wants a second child so badly, or is there something that I am not giving Renji that, child or no child, he needs?_

"They are breaking in on the right flank!"

Byakuya shifted into ban kai and curled his petals around a huge hollow that was bearing down on a group of already deeply engaged fighters. The petals swirled into a sphere, spinning and flaring with pink light. The hollow screamed as the sphere imploded and the hollow was cut to ribbons and collapsed in a bloody heap onto the blood soaked sand.

_What is it that my pregnancy would provide that he wants so much? I would have to go on reduced duty. no combat missions at first, then desk duty in the later stages. I would soften emotionally. And I would be more dependent on him because of the need for paternal bonding. So is that what he wants? For me to be weakened? For me to depend on his strength? It does make some kind of sense. He has been my protector on the battlefield for some time now. But in life, as in that other place, I have always relied on my own strength to make my way. I do not lean on anyone, not even him. Except for that time when I was coming to terms with falling in love with him, I have not relied on him for much of anything. We have given each other unconditional love and we have committed ourselves to being good parents to Akitora, but..._

_Could Renji be reading my lack of reliance on him as me withdrawing or being distant from him? What is it that he gains from my moments of weakness? What do we gain by me letting on when those moments come...letting him be there for me? Is it that he needs to feel needed? Productive? Powerful? What is it that he is seeking?_

"Fall back! A wave of flyers is coming in! Watch the flanks!"

The sky over the fighters turned pink as Byakuya's ban kai filled the area, obsuring the view for the incoming, flighted hollows and reducing their number by half in a matter of seconds.

He failed to sense a pair of red-golden eyes that had sighted him and carefully watched him, looking for an opening.

_And is the reason that I have been so sensitive to Hisagi Shuuhei's presence, and his future place near Renji, that this other man is weaker than me, is connected to Renji, and might be able to offer him what I could not?_

_Shuuhei used to be stronger than Renji._

The watching hollow moved closer.

_And it was then that they were lovers._

Clawed hands tightened around the hilt of a glowing black sword.

_He left Shuuhei before he achieved ban kai. I wonder what made him leave? Was it that he needed to be with someone he could exert his power to protect? Is that why he wants me to become pregnant? To weaken myself? And has my refusal to do so made him consider leaving me too?_

The hollow's lips curved into a cruel sneer as he closed in.

_No one is always strong. And I have suffered greatly at times because I chose not to rely on his strength. Was I really being strong? Was I being stubborn? Was I being selfish? Was I holding Renji out and keeping him at a distance when I both could and should have acknowledged our bond by accepting and appreciating his support?_

A huge swell of black power erupted from the hollow's wide-open mouth and the dark sword slashed downward. Byakuya's eye caught the motion, and he knew immediately that it was too late to fully block it.

_It is ironic, isn't it?_

_That is the place where Renji would have been standing._

His petals shielded him somewhat from what was still a mind-numbing blow, and blood exploded out of his breached body.

_Had I merely asked..._

His petals exploded outward, vaporizing the attacking hollow, and the dark sword where it had penetrated his shoulder and chest.

_Had I lowered my pride, sent a hell butterfly and let him take his place or not as he chose..._

His head spun and his knees weakened. The battlefield disappeared as he poured his power into raising, then detonating his senkei around the fighters to cripple the incoming hollows and break the back of the offensive. The few remaining strong hollows called a retreat and most broke off, leaving their still-engaged brethren to be massacred.

_His need to protect could have been sated._

_My need to be protected could have been met._

His knees struck the ground and the taste and scent of blood leaked into his fading awareness.

_Was I being accommodating or was I being petty?_

His body struck the ground forcefully and everything went silent and still around him.

_Was I employing my own strength or just being reckless?_

He heard distant voices and felt his body being lifted and carried from the battlefield.

_Renji..._

_I do need you._

_I want your love, your strength, your presence in my life._

_But..._

His mind lost its coherence and began to drift and lose focus.

_I don't want to get..._

"Kuchiki taichou?"

_I don't want to be..._

"He needs immediate surgery. Open a direct senkaimon to the fourth division, now!"

_Renji..._

_It...hurts._

_Am I alone?_

_Where are you?_

_I need you...Renji..._

XXXXXXXXXX

"Good night, Shuu," Renji said, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he left the ninth division and started down the dark, deserted streets on his way home.

"Night Abarai taichou,"

"Knock that shit off!" Renji laughed, "I'm not officially your taichou yet."

Shuuhei laughed and closed the door behind Renji. The redhead frowned and looked down at his watch.

_Didn't know it had gotten that late. There was a lot to do and, hell, I have to admit, I enjoyed letting down and relaxing a little after how tense things have been at home. I feel guilty admitting it, but...noble life gets tedious at times._

_Shit, did I really just think that?_

_Of course it gets tedious. But it still has its benefits..._

He thought of Akitora curled up in her bed and sleeping soundly...then of Byakuya...out of uniform, his yukata loose and revealing, curled around pillows and waiting...dark eyes that would flare inwardly at seeing him, strong arms that would encircle him, and wickedly soft skin and hair that would tickle and entice him into completely forgetting his weariness. That beautiful Sakura scent he craved as though it was the air itself...

"Byakuya..." he whispered, smiling around the name.

His step quickened and he felt the weariness give way to the anticipation of seeing his lovely mate. He reached the manor gates and greeted the guards, passed through and moved onto the walkway along the main wing. He went first to Akitora's room and bent over the sleeping girl to give her a gentle kiss on the forehead. She stirred and sighed in her sleep, then turned and curled around her pillows, much the way her noble father did sometimes. He loved seeing those sweet mingled traces of the two of them in her. He watched Akitora for a moment longer, then left the room and walked to the one he shared with Byakuya.

He was taken by surprise at finding the bed empty.

_Huh...must have gotten busy at work. I'm sure he'll be back soon._

He disrobed and dressed in a comfortable yukata, then slipped out to the bathing room, being careful not to wake his attendant. As much as he had grown used to Koji fussing over him, he was hoping Byakuya would arrive soon and join him. He removed his yukata and waded out into the water, then stood beneath the fall of warm water, breathing in the scent of the flowers and waiting for a hint of sakura to break through, for warm, loving arms to curl around him from behind.

He began to grow worried as time went on and he was still alone.

_He must have been really swamped. I feel bad now, not even having checked in. I may be transitioning to taichou of the ninth, but I knew Tetsuya was sick and couldn't get started. And as good as the others are, the fukutaichou really does a lot to allow the taichou to focus his efforts. And if I was well enough to go to the ninth, I could have spared a minute to check in with Byakuya too. I didn't even think. That was really pretty thoughtless. I think I'm going to owe him a nice long back rub and some real good 'thank you' sex._

He finished his shower quickly, dried off and wrapped his yukata around him, then flash stepped back to their bedroom, inadvertently waking Koji in the process.

"You should have awakened me to attend you," the youth said, yawning, "That is my job, Abarai-san."

"I told you a thousand times to call me Renji," he said, a little more harshly than he meant to, "Sorry, Koji."

"It's all right, Renji-san," the attendant assured him, "But you seem out of sorts. Is something wrong?"

"Eh, no, I'm fine," Renji said, shaking his head.

"Do you want me to dry your hair?" asked the sleepy youth.

"N-no," said Renji, looking flustered, "I really just want to know where Byakuya ran off to. He's usually not _this_ late coming home at night. Did he send a message? Is he spending the night at the sixth?"

"Gomen nasai," said Koji, "Weren't you informed when you arrived? Kuchiki-sama left with a group from the sixth division for a weeklong relief mission to Hueco Mundo."

"H-hueco Mundo? Today?" Renji mused, "That mission was set for next week. I know it was. I posted the assignment and picked the team myself."

"I...don't know what to say, sir," said Koji, "I don't know what happened."

"Me either," said the redhead, "But I'm getting to the bottom of it...now."

He flash stepped away, leaving the attendant looking after him. He rushed into the bedroom and hastily dressed in his uniform, then flash stepped to the sixth division. He opened the office door to find the office dark, cold and empty. He flash stepped to the daily posts and yanked the deployment orders sheet off its tack, then scanned it.

"Damn..." he muttered, "I hate it when they pull this crap on us! Stupid last minute changes! But the order came in hours before the departure time. Why the hell didn't he just..."

He thought for a moment, then let out an aggravated sigh.

"He must have just gotten the message that I wasn't coming home for dinner and figured I was too busy. Yeah...busy having dinner at some damned noodle shop while my squad left without me. If I had known...it was nothing I couldn't have done when I got back. Damn it! Why didn't he just ask?"

He stood for several long moments, glaring down at the orders, then dropped the paper onto Byakuya's tidy desk and flash stepped to his quarters. He swatted a hell butterfly aside as he hastily prepared his gear and grabbed Zabimaru. He headed for the squad room door, but slid to a stop as the hell butterfly fluttered and glowed impatiently in front of him.

"Oh fine!" Renji snapped, "Make it quick. I have somewhere to be!"

"Priority message from the fourth division."

Renji froze, a horrid feeling of illness rising up inside him.

_Shit...don't be..._

"Kuchiki taichou has been critically injured in a skirmish at the Hueco Mundo border outpost."

_Byakuya..._

"He has been evacuated to the fourth division for emergency surgery."

_Oh god..._

"Squad six has been relieved and ordered to return."

He burst out the squad room door, nearly taking it off the hinges.

_Why, Byakuya?_

His reiatsu flared red around him and burned hotly against his skin.

_Why the hell do you do this?_

He ran up the fourth division steps and into the healing center.

"I'm here for Kuchiki taichou. I got a hell butterfly saying he'd been injured."

_I should have been with you._

The doors opened again and Tetsuya flash stepped into the lobby with Tomio and Rukia on his heels.

"Renji!" cried Rukia, "Where is Nii-sama? Is he all right? What happened? You weren't hurt too, were you?"

"M-me?" Renji asked, dazedly.

_I would have been with you._

"Weren't you there with him? In Hueco Mundo?" demanded Rukia, staring at his clean, undamaged uniform.

He stared back at her in silence.

_But you never even told me..._

"Renji?"

_You act like you don't need anyone._

"Renji! Renji, say something! Is Nii-sama all right?"

_I want so badly to be there for you, but I can only do that if you let me._

"I...I don't know. I just got here."

"You just...got here?" asked Rukia, more softly, "You weren't with him?"

Tetsuya's eyes took on a guilty, wounded look.

"And neither was I."

_Byakuya._

"Who was with him? Who was with Nii-sama?"

_I can almost see you standing out there alone, facing them all down on your own. But it isn't wrong to have others stand with you. It's not a weakness to want to stand alongside each other and fight together. On the battlefield or off, I just want to be with you! I want us to face whatever comes, together._

"He was watching over the fighters...keeping them protected while they fought," said a slightly injured officer from the sixth.

"You were there?" asked Tetsuya.

"Yeah," said the officer, "He was amazing...holding them off like that, protecting us all. Everyone came back safe...only minor injuries...except for..."

_Except for you._

_Do you understand now?_

_Did it get through to you, Byakuya?_

_You can't stand alone against the world._

_As I learned on the brutal streets of Inuzuri, it doesn't matter how strong you are. You need your friends and family around you if you want to stay alive._

"Who was watching Kuchiki taichou's back during the fighting?" Renji asked in a low voice.

The officer's voice trembled as he answered.

"I...I told you, sir. He was alone."

_Tell me it isn't too late._

"I'm...sorry, sir."

_I swear, I'm going to just come out and say it, even if you are pissed when I do._

_You need to hear it._

_I need to say it._

_Just tell me I'll have the chance._

_Don't let it be too late._

"Abarai fukutaichou," said Isane's kind voice, "He survived the surgery and is in recovery. Come. I will take you to sit with him."

_I just need to get to you...to touch your face...to hold your hand...to tell you._

He reached the recovery room and sat down in the chair next to Byakuya's too pale, too still form.

_I need you._

_I love you._

_I would go to hell and back for you._

_I would die for you._

_But you won't ever let me..._


	6. The Trust

**Chapter 6: The Trust**

The first thing that broke through the haze around Byakuya's senses, was Renji's calming scent, and the feel of the redhead's warm fingers that were laced together with his. His head spun and he groaned at the shock of pain that erupted inside it as he shifted and opened his eyes.

"Daddy Bya?"

Slowly, the room resolved itself, and he found himself face to face with his distraught daughter, who had climbed onto the bed and nuzzled under his arm, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Akitora," he whispered sleepily.

"Daddy Bya, you're awake!" she sobbed, large tears welling up in her golden eyes and leaking onto her face, "I kept saying your name over and over, but you wouldn't wake up."

"I told you that he was going to be all right," Renji said, rubbing the girl's back gently, "He just needs lots of rest."

"I want to rest with you, then," the girl said, sniffing and leaving her head pillowed on Byakuya's shoulder.

Byakuya curled his arm around her, provoking a relieved sob and several sniffs from the girl, before she settled again, hugging him tightly. Byakuya smiled at her and kissed her on top of the head.

"Didn't you hear Renji?" he asked calmly, "I am going to be fine. Now, why don't you go and find Hanatarou to help you make some tea for us?"

"You feel good enough to drink tea?" the girl said, brightening.

"Yes, I would like some very much. Thank you, Akitora...for helping, but also for watching over me."

"Well," said the girl, blushing cutely, "You and Daddy Ren never leave me by myself when I'm sick...so...I thought that I should stay with you."

"Arigato," Byakuya said gratefully, "Now, go and see about that tea."

"Yes, Daddy Bya!" Akitora said, flash stepping away.

The two men watched her leave, then Renji turned to look at Byakuya, and sat down beside him again.

"Renji," he whispered, squeezing the redhead's hand, "I imagine you can't wait to tell me 'I told you so,' ne?"

Renji smiled at him and kissed him lightly on the mouth.

"You think I'd kick a guy when he's down?" he asked, shaking his head, "There's plenty of time for us to argue about what happened. Right now, I'm just really thankful that I didn't lose you. What were you thinking, going out there without someone to watch your back? You think that the hollows are all too stupid to realize that if they take you down, everything else will fall apart?"

"I took the required number of officers."

"You were alone when you were attacked," Renji countered quietly, "That's not how your fukutaichou set up the team. Someone was supposed to be with you. I know you want to tell me it wasn't necessary, but I think we both know that's bullshit. If you had had someone watching your back, you wouldn't be here, end of story."

"I thought you weren't going to kick me while I was down," Byakuya complained softly, putting a hand on his forehead, "and besides, if another man had been at my back, he only would have paid with his life."

"Yeah?" sighed Renji, "Well, as cold as it seems? That's what we're there for...to watch your back, to protect you, our taichou, even if we have to die doing it."

"Well," said Byakuya, frowning, "as cold as it also might seem, it is up to the taichou, not his absent fukutaichou to have the final word on troop dispersal."

Renji scowled.

"You're going to pull rank on me now?" he asked, angrily, "And anyway, I wouldn't have been absent if my taichou had taken thirty seconds and sent a message to me. You knew where I was. I sent word to the manor that I was..."

"Yes...abandoning your rest, despite not reporting to work because of your illness...something I overlooked because I knew how awful you were feeling. But apparently, I needn't have worried. You were up and about swiftly enough once Hisagi Shuuhei arrived, though you appear to have acted so hastily that you forgot that by protocol, you should have at least checked in with your current fighting unit if you were reporting for duty. It is not my job to keep track of the whereabouts of my officers. They are supposed to maintain some level of responsibility for themselves."

So...this was about Shuuhei?" Renji asked, "You're pissed because I was with him instead of you?"

"No. I accepted that part just fine. What I object to is that you did not attend to something that any taichou would have expected of you. If you were on duty, you should have informed me of that immediately, end of story."

"So your answer to me slacking off is to put yourself in harm's way, Byakuya?" argued Renji, "To throw caution to the wind and say 'the fuck with strategy, let's get reckless?' You know you were being spiteful."

"You think I _wanted_ to be injured or killed? Or worse, that I let my judgment be hindered because you weren't there to hold my hand, Abarai? I will tell you what happened! I knew that you were with your future fukutaichou attending to business and I judged I could handle things without disturbing you. It wasn't so calculated as you think. I wasn't attempting to let the hollows eat me alive or playing games. I went on a mission, and if I am guilty of any failure in that, it was being distracted with wonder at myself for hurting over having seen you having dinner out with your future fukutaichou, while ignoring even the most basic courtesy of checking in briefly with me."

"So now it's my fault that you were hurt?" said Renji, his reiatsu flaring.

"I didn't say that," Byakuya said, frowning, "I only admitted to feeling some hurt at what you were doing. I didn't say anything when I saw the two of you, because it would have been too humiliating to think that you would ever leave me for him."

"What?" said Renji, his eyes widening, "_That's_ what this is about? You almost got yourself killed because you thought I might be leaving you for him? Byakuya, that's crazy! Why would you think that? Why would that even cross your mind? We've been through this a hundred times. I was with him a long time ago, and I left him."

"Yes," acknowledged the noble quietly, "And think about you other former lovers, Renji. Have you ever once been the one left behind?"

Renji colored slightly and bit his lip gently, letting out a defeated sigh.

"So, it's not even that I was with Shuuhei, is it? You really think I'm going to leave you? Why? What have I done that makes you think that?"

Byakuya shook his head.

"It is not any one thing you have done, but something I feel. And I don't so much fear you leaving because of another love, but because what is between us isn't strong enough to keep you here."

Renji let out a disbelieving breath.

"Byakuya," he said, moving onto the edge of the bed, "After everything we've been through already, how could you think that? How could you really think that I would leave you and Akitora? I've been at you for months about having another baby. Why would I...?"

"Why indeed?" Byakuya asked softly, "Admitting that I cannot safely attend to my job without you? Weakening myself through pregnancy? Renji...you seem to enjoy something in a lover that I cannot give you. I cannot be a weak, overly dependent person."

"You think getting pregnant makes a person _weak_?" Renji asked, sounding offended, "Cause unlike you, I have _been_ pregnant. And yeah, it fucked with my body and I had to lean on you more because of that."

"I did not say that you wanted me to be weak. I said that you wanted me to be dependent on you. There is a difference."

Renji went quiet, gazing at him breathlessly.

"If I have to depend on you to conduct my duties, then I am not fit to wear a haori. And if I cannot manage myself without..."

"Don't even go there," Renji said, cutting him off, "You know that the first thing I ever loved about you was your strength. Why would I ever want to see that taken away?"

Byakuya stared at him wordlessly.

"Yeah, I admit. It would feel good to be able to take care of you and spoil you some while you were pregnant. You spend so much of the time looking out for everyone else, I want sometimes to look after you. I can't help that. I love you. But it's not like I want you to be helpless without me or anything. And I know you have to start letting go of me as your fukutaichou, but if you are distracted, then you should, at this point, know better than to take the battlefield alone in that condition. You could have been killed."

"I am aware of that. You do not have to keep making that point."

"Don't I?" asked the redhead, "Because as much as I tell you I love you and as much as I try to show you that, I can see you're still worried. So, I'm going to repeat this until you get it through your thick skull, Byakuya. I love you. You and I have been to hell and back together, and I am not leaving you. And yeah, I want to get you pregnant...because I love you...and because I like taking care of you sometimes...and damn it, I admit it. I think you'd make one hell of a sexy pregnant guy."

"Abarai..." Byakuya said, trying to fend off a smile.

"Come on, you'd be too damned cute, barefoot and dressed in your nightclothes...your hair down and loose...a little messy, your belly out to here, with our kid growing inside, and you indulging in piles of sweets.

"What a frightening thought..."

"Shut up," Renji laughed, "Just shut up and come here,"

He wrapped his arms around the noble and brought their lips together for several warm, deep kisses.

"I am never leaving you...you hear me?" he said softly, "My world begins and ends with you and our little girl...well, and any others we have. You hear me now?"

Byakuya sighed and rested his head on the redhead's shoulder, closing his eyes.

"I hear you."

The door opened, and Akitora entered the room, carrying a tea tray as Tetsuya stood, holding the door for her.

"Ah, you are back. Arigato, Akitora," said Byakuya, smiling at her.

"I couldn't find Hanatarou, but I found Uncle Tetsuya."

"That was nice of you to drop in," said Renji, "Byakuya's looking much better this morning."

"That's good," said Tetsuya, "I am glad to hear that. It is a relief. I would stay and visit, but I had to bring Tomio in as he was ill again this morning."

"Is he doing okay?" asked Renji quickly.

"Oh, yes, he seems to be fine...just dehydrated and perhaps still drained from the party."

"That _was_ some party, though, wasn't it?" chuckled Renji, "I never saw so many people with hangovers."

"Yes," said Tetsuya, "Even my Arashi seems to have over-indulged. He was sick as a dog yesterday, and only barely functioning today."

"Sorry to hear that," said Renji, "Give ol' Fleabag a hug for us, okay?"

"I will," promised Tetsuya, turning to go.

He paused for a moment, still holding the door open.

"Would you like me to take Tora back to the manor?" he asked, "Matsuko needs the children to help her make a lot of ginger cookies. It seems that there are quite a few people with belly aches about the manor today."

"Serves them right for over-indulging," Byakuya said, narrowing his eyes and frowning.

"That's not nice," Renji said, "No ginger cookies for you, mister. You are going to be punished.

"I'll bring you a cookie, Daddy Bya," Akitora whispered in the noble's ear.

"Go on, then," said Byakuya, nodding, "I am sure I will be released soon."

"We'll see you at home, then, Nii-sama," said Tetsuya, "Come, Tora."

Byakuya and Renji watched in amusement as the girl scampered to the door and followed Tetsuya out of the room, chattering brightly all of the way. Then the redhead turned to face his noble mate.

"Now, I think I promised you a punishment for your very bad behavior lately."

Byakuya blinked slowly.

"Is that so?" he asked quietly.

"Jealousy? Suspecting me of being about to abandon you? Recklessness? Lack of sympathy for those poor people who got drunk at the party _you_ hosted? You have been extremely poorly behaved."

Byakuya gazed at him calmly.

"I am afraid that I must admit to guilt on all counts," he answered softly.

"Hmmm," said the redhead, moving in closer and teasing the noble's lips with his.

"You trying to manipulate me into giving you less punishment for confessing up front?"

"No," said Byakuya, nipping at Renji's lips, "I have admitted my guilt freely. I will accept my punishment in full."

"Good," said Renji, feeding him with a long, deep, open-mouthed kiss, "Because I'm not going to go easy on you, just because I love you."

"I would hope not."

The redhead smiled and met his eyes disarmingly.

"I'm really glad you're all right, Byakuya. I don't know what I'd do if anything bad happened to you. You and I have already come too close to losing each other. I don't want to go that way again. So...take me with you on missions or don't, as you choose, but don't let your guard down like you did this time. I would die inside if I lost you."

Byakuya loosed a soft, regretful sigh.

"I am ashamed of myself for doubting you," he said, looking into Renji's affectionate eyes, "I am strong in many ways, but weak when it comes to trusting in love. I am sorry for letting my doubts get the best of me. And so the only thing I can do is to promise you that I won't let it happen again. Whatever happens, I will trust you...to love me with your heart, to honor me with your loyalty and to always be truthful with me...even if the truth is painful."

"I think I can live with that...and let you off this time with a warning," Renji said, sinking into Byakuya's warm, hungry mouth again.

They heard the door open and broke away from each other, looking up as Unohana taichou entered the room.

"Should I come back later?" she asked, smiling.

"No," said Byakuya, looking up at her, "I would like to go home as soon as possible."

"Well," said the healer, looking down at his chart, "I should be able to accommodate you. You were very lucky that your enemy's blade did not go any deeper. It could have been a much more dangerous injury, but your quick reflexes once you were aware you were going to be hit, saved you from worse damage. Still, from the description of the hollow you gave me, I do not see how he was able to get close enough to attack you."

"I allowed myself to become distracted," Byakuya said, glancing at Renji, "It will not happen again."

"It is good to hear that your fukutaichou has talked some sense into you," Unohana said, looking back at him, "Your injury is healing well, and you should be able to go home this morning, as long as you take a few days off and rest."

"But..."

"I can take care of things at the division," Renji said quickly.

"But you are settling in at your new division..."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. Just...let me get you home and into bed, and we'll work things out from there..."

He stopped, blushing at his own words.

"I mean..."

"I understand," said the healer, her smile widening.

She looked back down at Byakuya's chart.

"There is one more matter that we need to discuss."

"Is something wrong?" Renji asked, frowning.

"Not really," said the healer, "but Kuchiki taichou did ask me to check to see if he had conceived. With noble male pregnancies, the pregnancy can be detected through a simple reiatsu test after only a few hours. Unlike with human pregnancy, conception is more of an immediate thing. In any case, I was able to determine that Kuchiki taichou is not pregnant."

"That is odd," said Byakuya, "I know of no reason I would not be able to become pregnant."

"Nor do I," said Unohana, "I took some samples of your reiatsu, and some of Abarai fukutaichou's that were present on you, and I did find an explanation."

"You did?" said Renji, "So...what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong exactly," explained the healer, "Your reiatsu is just carrying an inhibiting factor that is interfering with your efforts."

"But why would it be doing that?" asked Renji.

"Well, usually, it is because one of you or the other is pregnant."

"But you just said that I am not," said Byakuya.

"And I can't be," said Renji, "because..."

He trailed off, blushing.

"It may be an anomaly of some sort, but I will take some more samples from both of you and examine them more closely, using some other tests, and conferring with your clan healers."

"Of course," said Byakuya, "Whatever you need to do."

Renji paled.

"Did you say...blood tests?" he asked, cringing.

"Really, Abarai," Byakuya said, shaking his head reprovingly and sending a quick shock of kido through the redhead, stunning him and making him collapse beside the noble, "Go ahead, Unohana taichou, take whatever you need."

"Thank you, Kuchiki taichou. And do not worry. I am sure we will get to the bottom of this, and you and Abarai-san will be on the way to having another child very soon!"


	7. Recovery

**Chapter 7: Recovery**

**(It's raining in Spunkyland, so that means a lot of fun between the sheets for our heroes. I **_**love **_**rainy days! *sighs*)**

Renji groaned and stirred, then opened a red-brown eye and met Byakuya's affectionate gaze, scowling.

"Traitor..." he muttered, rubbing his eyes and studying the small bandage on his arm where Unohana taichou had drawn his blood.

"Did you sleep well, Abarai?" the noble asked blithely, "You looked quite comfortable."

"Watched me the whole time instead of getting rest, yourself, ne?" Renji complained, "That's so like you."

"Come now," said the noble, cuddling closer and nipping at the redhead's lips, "I was in bed the whole time. I was just watching you sleep. I do not think it was too taxing."

"No," Renji said, yawning, "I guess not. And it did pass the time, I guess. How are you feeling?"

"A bit on the weary side, but fine. I am more than recovered enough to go home to continue resting. I do not want to worry Akitora by staying here too much longer."

"Yeah, she was really freaked out, at first. But, she's a strong kid. And once we got here, she watched over you like a little lioness."

"She takes after you."

"Don't you be trying to get back on my good side, you. I'm still good and pissed at you for nearly getting yourself killed and leaving our girl a parent short. You know we promised not to do that to her."

"We did," Byakuya agreed, "And fortunately, fate was on my side this time, and I was able to keep to that promise."

He studied the redhead's handsome face for a moment.

"And I will endeavor not to tempt fate like that again."

"Good," said Renji, sitting up and sliding out of the hospital bed, "Because I think you and I need a little time where neither of us is threatened with death. If we never get out of crisis mode, we're never going to be able to focus on what a great thing we have here."

Byakuya climbed out of the bed and began to dress.

"I am _always_ both aware of and grateful for what we have together, Renji."

"I know you are," said Renji, yawning again, "And that's why next time our squad goes out like that, you're going to make sure a trusted sword is ready at your back, ne?"

Byakuya sighed in annoyance.

"Oh, very well. If it will make stop boring me with your incessant nagging."

"Ouch!" Renji laughed, "Did you just call me a nag?"

Byakuya shrugged.

"If the shoe fits..."

"Oh, you _asking _for it!" the redhead said, flash stepping forward and bringing the noble down on his back, "Take that back!"

"What are you doing?" complained the noble, "You are acting like one of the children."

"Yeah? Well, maybe they have it right then. I'm not going to stand by and let you call me a nag!"

"I didn't call you a nag."

"Yes, you did! I heard you!" Renji insisted.

"Then, you need to get your ears checked...or just learn to pay better attention. I _said_ I was bored with your nagging. I did not call you a nag."

"W-well..."

He broke off and straightened, releasing Byakuya and taking on a more serious expression as Unohana taichou entered the room, wearing a puzzled look.

"What is it? Are the results back? Am I pregnant?" asked Renji.

"Actually," said the healer, "the tests could not confirm whether or not you are. However, I was able to find a way to reduce the factor in your blood so that you and Kuchiki taichou may continue your efforts to impregnate him. But...perhaps you want to wait until more tests are done."

"Are you kidding?" chuckled Renji, "I'm taking this guy home and knocking him up immediately!"

"Abarai!" Byakuya said indignantly, "You may be having someone else's child, and you want to..."

"I am not having anyone else's kid," Renji said firmly, "That was some fluke before, and they're just going to find that I'm not pregnant, anyway. So let's go home and get you pregnant, okay?"

"I thought you wanted me to rest," Byakuya said, raising an eyebrow.

"You can have all the rest you want, after..."

"One more word, Abarai," Byakuya said, his reiatsu flaring softly, "One more word and you are going to find yourself sleeping somewhere other than in our bed."

"Oh, is that how it is!" Renji said, sweeping the noble into his arms, "Unohana taichou, excuse us, please."

"By all means," said the healer, "I will have the final results soon, and I will send for you."

"Great."

"Put me down, Abarai. This is not dignified," Byakuya insisted.

"Hang on," laughed Renji, "I'm gonna flash step. You don't wanna fall and end up back in the healing center."

"Renji!"

"Shut up and hang on," the redhead said, bursting into flash steps.

"You are..."

"I know," said Renji, "I love you too."

"You could still be pregnant."

"No, I can't. You have to get fucked to be pregnant, and the only one who got fucked around here is you. I was there."

"How dare you speak to me like that! Put me down, now!" the noble snapped.

"No way. you just got out of the healing center. I'm taking you home to rest."

"Well, I hope you won't stand about insulting me there like you did at the healing center."

"Me insult you?" Renji teased, "Bite your pretty tongue."

He flash stepped into the manor, then into the bedroom, where he closed the garden doors and dropped the noble onto the bed, quickly dropping down on him and pinning him.

"Or better yet, let _me_ bite your tongue..."

"I have had about enough of your..." Byakuya began.

"Oh, don't call me any more names, you!" he said reprovingly, "_I've _had about enough of _that_!"

Byakuya's reiatsu flared, and he started to make a heated reply, but lost the breath to loose it a moment later as Renji's mouth claimed his.

"Get _off_ of me, Abarai! Are you insane? I just got home from the hospital!" Byakuya said, struggling.

"Yeah, I know," said Renji, grinning, "Well, you weren't resting anyway. You were just ogling me. If you've got the energy to lust after me..."

"Renji!"

"Then I say you've got the energy to...ow! Oh, you want to play rough?" Renji said playfully.

"I want you to get off of me, now!" Byakuya insisted.

"No, I don't think so," said Renji, his red-brown eyes glinting, and his red mouth biting down and sucking on the white flesh of the noble's throat.

His hand slid down Byakuya's body and found his piqued member.

"Oh..." gasped the noble, trying to hold onto his anger, "You are _not_...! Renji...Renji...s-stop..."

Renji's mouth broke away from his throat and attacked his lips instead. His body trapped the noble's lightly beneath it, his hips moving and rubbing their members together as he continued the hard kisses and heavy caresses. And despite still feeling a touch of anger, Byakuya could no longer fully connect with the emotion.

"Abarai!" he moaned, in a final attempt to stop him.

But he found he no longer wanted Renji to stop. He loved his husband's playful aggressiveness, his possessiveness, his sometimes childish behavior. No one else dared to be like that with him.

But Renji was like that...

And when he was, Byakuya found him irresistible.

"Mmmmmmmm," moaned Renji, "You got awfully quiet, all of a sudden."

"My mouth was full," Byakuya said, relaxing beneath the redhead, "I was taught not to talk with my mouth full. But what do you know of manners and propriety, ne Renji?"

"I don't give a fuck about manners right now," Renji hissed in his ear, "I want you."

Byakuya turned, nearly throwing the redhead onto the floor, but Renji shifted easily and came down on his back, trapping him again. The noble barely fought off a lusty groan as Renji's strong thighs captured his hips and locked him in place facedown on the bed. Rough fingers moved the silken hair off of his neck, and Renji's devilish mouth bit down, making Byakuya gasp and pant in anticipation. While he was still reeling, the redhead shifted again and pushed his thighs apart, settling between them and teasing the noble's white bottom. His hand snaked around Byakuya's hip, finding the noble's length and his mouth bit down on the back of Byakuya's neck again and sucked hard, forcing a deep, contented groan of surrender from his conquered lover.

Byakuya moaned feverishly, his heart racing as he raised his hips to welcome his lover's rough entrance. The residual ache of his injury disappeared beneath the heady throb of pleasure as Renji pressed warmly against his back, biting and sucking at his throat and shoulder, and caressing him. Byakuya's hands clenched the bedding and his body arched wantonly, moving in harmony with Renji's and shaking with anticipation. He caught his breath softly as Renji's deep, husky voice sounded in his ear.

"I love you, Byakuya..." he panted in the noble's ear, making his skin flush and his heart throb sweetly in his chest, "I swear, I'm never going to do...anything...to ruin what we have here."

Unable to say anything back, Byakuya turned his head and met Renji's mouth over a bare, sweat-glistened shoulder.

_I love you too._

_I trust you._

_And I will never do anything to ruin this either._

He pushed up against the redhead's body to feel the intensity of his mate's strength, matching it with his own and threatening to upend Renji as their coupling continued. He smiled as Renji's hands tightened on him, and the redhead's powerful legs gripped his body more firmly. He growled aggressively into the noble's burning mouth and intensified his motions, finding the place inside Byakuya that made the pleasure explode all through him, forcing him headlong into the throes of a wonderfully strong orgasm as Renji's body seized atop his, and the redhead's seething release filled him.

He groaned as they parted, then smiled at the redhead and gazed at him through hazy eyes as he was dragged onto his lover's tattooed chest and treated to a barrage of warm finishing kisses.

"Better now?" Renji asked sleepily, sliding a hand down the noble's slender back and curving it warmly around Byakuya's plundered bottom.

"I don't know what you're talking about. There was nothing wrong with me in the first place. I was fine."

"So, that makes you better than fine now, ne?" Renji chuckled, attacking his mouth again.

"If you say so, Abarai," Byakuya sighed between kisses.

"Then, I say so."

"Then, I am better than fine. Does that please you?" Byakuya asked.

"You please me..."

He moaned softly as Renji's fingers teased him while they continued to kiss until both dropped off into a contented sleep.

He woke some time later to find himself still sprawled across Renji's chest, and the redhead's fingers sliding slowly through the silken lengths of his hair. He lifted his head and found himself faced with a large, ripe, red strawberry. He accepted the offered fruit and savored it slowly, then watched with narrowed eyes as Renji took a second berry and placed it in his own mouth. Byakuya sat up, dragging the redhead up with him and closing his mouth around the berry. The soft fruit gave way to their eager lips and tongues, yielding its sweet flesh and sticky juice that dribbled into their sucking mouths and onto their faces. Byakuya spread his thighs and settled onto the redhead's lap as Renji grabbed another large berry and the two continued the sweet battle to consume it. After they had managed several berries, Renji paused to slowly lick the sticky mess from his lover's flushed lips, mouth and chin. He pushed the noble down, lustily seeking every drop that had found its way onto the noble's pale throat and his fine, white breast. His tongue swept across a sensitive, pink nipple, and Byakuya moaned and sank his fingers into the redhead's tumbled hair. He dragged Renji's berry reddened mouth back to his and attacked it viciously, sucking the other man's strawberry sweetened tongue into his mouth as Renji's hands followed the curves of his body and his marauding fingers invaded the noble's entrance again, as much for the pleasure of touching him inside, as for preparing him for their joining.

"You'd better have some more of that fruit," Renji warned him, "You'll need the energy, because you're not leaving this bed until you are good and pregnant, ne?"

"Really, Abarai," panted the noble, "You do have a one-track mind, don't you? But...if it makes you happy, I will certainly give it my best. Just...I cannot eat, lying on my back like this."

Renji pulled the noble back into his lap, joining their bodies again as the noble reached for another strawberry and upset the bowl. He didn't have time to react as Renji's mouth captured and busied his again. His hand set down in a bowl of something warm and thick, that spread onto his fingers and open palm. Renji grabbed his hand and brought it to his lips.

"I see you found the chocolate," the redhead purred, slowly sucking and licking his hand clean as Byakuya laid his sweating face on Renji's shoulder and watched, while continuing to move on Renji's lap.

"Oh gods!" Renji moaned, biting down on a long, pale finger, "I thought chocolate was good all by itself...b-but..."

"Renji..." Byakuya panted, his mind spinning pleasantly as clenched at the redhead's shoulders and his lovely body writhed and shuddered in release.

Renji lowered him onto his back, climaxing with him and filling him again. Then he laid on top of the noble, letting the ends of his long hair tickle Byakuya's skin.

"You are one hard nut to crack, Kuchiki Byakuya," Renji sighed, "But once you get past those heavy defenses...hell...it's nothing but beautiful!"

"You're ridiculous," Byakuya whispered, his eyes blinking sleepily.

"And you're god-awful sexy all covered in strawberry juice, chocolate and my..."

"Shut up," Byakuya said, stopping him with a savage kiss, "Don't say things like that to me."

"Why not? It's true," Renji said between kisses, "You look, smell and taste so good, I can't get enough of you."

Byakuya's lips trembled as he couldn't quite fend off a pleased smile.

"Oh...don't you dare smile at me like that," Renji groaned, "We'll never get out of this bed."

"Mmmmmm," sighed the noble, "Shouldn't one of us at least check in at our division?"

"Nah," Renji said flippantly, "Some idiot went and got himself injured, and apparently, he's so important that the powers that be put us on home duty until he gets well. So...there's no rush."

"We should thank him," said Byakuya, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah," Renji laughed, good naturedly, "Thanks..._baka_!"

"You are welcome," Byakuya said, closing his eyes.

He felt the redhead settle on his chest and they began to drift off again.

"I really am looking forward to seeing you all cute and pregnant."

"Strangely," Byakuya admitted softly, "The idea seems to be growing on me."

"Good."


	8. The Blossoming

**Chapter 8: The Blossoming**

Byakuya sensed Akitora's presence and opened one gray eye to look at her as she stepped into his bedroom. Seeing that he was awake, the girl grinned and hopped up onto the bed, where she sat down next to him and stole a blueberry from the breakfast tray that had been left for him.

"Akitora?" he said, smiling at her, "I thought that you and the other children were accompanying Tomio down to the lake to swim today."

The girl dug her fingers into her long, thick hair and scratched the back of her neck in a way that Renji had a habit of doing while he talked.

"Oh...we were supposed to go, but Uncle Tomio is still throwing cookies, and even though Daddy Ren and Uncle Tetsuya still feel poopy (_Daddy Ren said he felt crappy, and not to tell you he said that_), he went to teach Uncle Tetsuya a thing or two about 'keeping Taichou from getting his pretty ass killed.'"

"I see," said the noble, shaking his head, "Renji seems to be in one of his moods."

"He was grumpy because he didn't feel good. He said he was up late working on something that would be a surprise for later. I _hate _when he keeps secrets!"

"Do not worry," said Byakuya, "I think he just wants to see the happy look on your face when he surprises you."

"I guess," said the girl, looking dissatisfied, "But now me and Kiko are bored and Takao is saying that if we were more mature, we wouldn't be bored. We would just focus on our training. Or if we wanted to be girly, we could be off giggling and telling secrets while we get our nails painted. I think he's stupid!"

"Akitora..."

"Sorry, Daddy Bya," the girl said contritely, "But I get tired of him always acting like he is better than me."

"I do not think he intends to look down on you. I believe that what he is doing is trying to look out for you."

"I don't _need_ him to look out for me!" exclaimed the girl, "I can take care of myself. I don't need him always getting in my way and telling me what to do! He's so mean sometimes!"

"Sometimes you think that Renji and I are mean as well, ne?" Byakuya queried, lifting a calm eyebrow.

The girl blinked and thought for a moment, then nodded grudgingly.

"But inside, you know that we only say the things we do, because we want you to grow up to be a strong and proud leader of the clan."

"But...!"

"I was not finished."

"Sorry," the girl said, blushing.

"Akitora, you are a young, lovely, free-spirited child, but not everyone sees that spiritedness as a good thing. The elders want a strong leader, but they want a leader who stands proudly, who thinks ahead and does not rush headlong into things. There are many responsibilities that you will have, and you will have to grow into them. Takao may seem to overstep his boundaries, but it is only because he feels it is his duty to help you be as strong and knowledgeable as you can. Like Renji and me, he loves you the way you are, but he doesn't want to see anything bad happen. He really is trying to help, though sometimes he just seems to step on your toes. Here is what I would suggest. If you would like to convince Takao to leave off, just look into his eyes and thank him sincerely the next time he reminds you of something you already know."

"What?" Akitora objected, "But...!"

"He will likely be so surprised at the maturity in that, that he will stop what he is doing, and forget all about telling you what to do."

The clan leader's lips quirked gently.

"He will then be obsessed with wondering why you are suddenly so nice to him. I assure you, it will confuse him entirely."

"Being nice to him will confuse him?" the girl asked skeptically, "Are you shitting on me?"

"_Akitora_..."

"Sorry, Daddy Bya," the girl said, biting her lips, "I just don't think _anything_ will make Takao shut up and stop pestering me."

"Well, then, we'll avoid him for a while," suggested the noble, "I will tell you what. If you will join me for breakfast and wait while I dress, I will walk you and the others down to the lake after all of you have had a chance to cool off from arguing with each other."

"Okay," sighed Akitora, "But it won't be as fun with Takao annoying us."

"Well, perhaps we can play a game so that he won't have time to annoy you."

"Okay, Daddy Bya, I'll try that," the girl said, stealing more berries from his tray.

"Hey, aren't those for your father?" Tomio said, good naturedly, peeking in through the open garden doors.

"Good morning, Tomio," Byakuya greeted the young man.

"Good morning, Byakuya-sama," said Tomio.

"Akitora was right," said Byakuya, looking concerned, "You still look ill."

"I am," said the young man, "But with Tetsuya at the sixth division and much of the staff ill..."

"Who is ill?" asked Byakuya.

"Kami...everyone, I think," said Tomio, leaning against the doorframe, "Tetsuya, Renji-san, Matsuko-san, Rukia-chan. And it must be something going around because I heard that Urahara-san and Kurosaki-san were ill."

"That sounds serious," said the noble, sliding out of bed, "I had best see our clan healer about what is going on. I..."

Byakuya went quiet as a hell butterfly arrived.

"Kuchiki taichou," said Unohana taichou's gentle voice, "Not to cause alarm, but I needed to inform you that two of your officers, Abarai fukutaichou and fukutaichou initiate Kuchiki Tetsuya were admitted to the healing center after losing consciousness during a sparring session."

"Losing consciousness? Both of them?" Byakuya mused.

"They are going to be fine," the healer went on, "however, I do need you to come to the healing center at your earliest convenience to discuss this, and a few other matters."

Byakuya frowned and summoned a hell butterfly.

"Unohana taichou, I will arrive at the healing center shortly."

He sent the hell butterfly fluttering away and looked down at Akitora, who scowled.

"I guess no walking now," she sighed, rolling her eyes.

Byakuya put a hand on the girl's shoulder and looked into her golden eyes.

"I am very sorry, Akitora. I had looked forward to our walk."

"That's okay," the girl said, still not smiling, but patting him on the forearm, "It sounds like you are going to be busy if Daddy Ren and Uncle Tetsuya started throwing cookies and fainting like Uncle Tomio."

Tomio laughed softly and Byakuya couldn't quite conceal his smile.

"Go on, now and find your cousins. The three of you need to help the staff since so many people are ill. As a future leader, you must always take care of the ones you will be leading someday. And it sounds like a lot of our family and staff are in need."

"Okay, Daddy Bya," Akitora said resignedly, "I'll make a truce with Takao...but just until everyone is well again because a person can only take so much shi..."

"Akitora..."

"Um...annoying things before they get a crack!"

The girl flash stepped away, leaving Byakuya shaking his head and Tomio holding his stomach and trying not to laugh.

"_Abarai..._" Byakuya sighed, "I don't know how many times I've asked him not to speak like that within her hearing. She does tend to repeat what she hears, and does not yet properly filter her speech for the more proper folk."

"Well, in Renji-san's defense, she does seem to hear _everything_, even when we don't think she is listening."

"Still," Byakuya went on, "he..."

He stopped himself forcibly.

"Ah, well. No sense bothering with it while there are more important things going on."

He turned into the dressing area.

"You should go back to bed," he told Tomio, "But when the clan healer comes to see you, ask for an update on everyone and see if anyone else has become ill. I will leave an order for the staff to bring in food from outside the manor and have a team check the estate for possible sources of the illness. We need to stop it, whatever it is. It may not be terribly dangerous, but with so many people falling ill, it is a serious concern."

"I'll be fine," Tomio assured him, "Just, please go to Renji-san and check in on Tetsuya for me. I will alert the staff for you and have them start the investigation."

"Are you sure?" Byakuya asked, "You still..."

"I will be all right," said Tomio, "I am more worried hearing that Renji-san and Tetsuya both lost consciousness."

"Of course. Arigato for taking care of things here. I will return as soon as I can, and I will send a hell butterfly from the fourth to let you know how my cousin is faring."

"Thank you, Byakuya-sama."

Byakuya hurriedly dressed and flash stepped all of the way to the fourth division. He was surprised as he entered to see Kyouraku taichou and Hitsugaya taichou, as well as Zaraki taichou in the waiting area.

"What is happening?" asked the noble, "Has there been an emergency?"

"Actually, it seems to be an outbreak of some kind of flu," said Kyouraku taichou, "Juushiro is ill, and I felt pretty awful this morning, but I feel better now."

"Momo and Matsumoto are both sick as well."

"And my two subordinates, Ikkaku-san and Yumichika-san are both here...collapsed while sparring."

"Well, that's not so unexpected, the way your men spar," commented Toushiro, frowning.

"Yeah, but I hadn't even drawn any blood yet," complained Zaraki, "What a pain in the ass..."

"There are a lot of people sick," Kyouraku said, looking around at the nearly full waiting area.

"There are more than a few sick at the manor as well," said Byakuya, "I am going to see Unohana taichou to get an update on this. I will let you all know what I learn."

He turned into the hallway and walked down to the fourth division taichou's office. Unohana taichou sat at her desk, looking over a stack of reports, but the looked up as he entered the room.

"Kuchiki taichou, thank you for coming. As you can see, I am rather overwhelmed trying to figure out what is happening here. The good news is that we have only one fairly serious case, but it is Ukitake taichou, who has complicating factors. Although the affected are suffering fainting spells, nausea, vomiting, weakness, fatigue and mood swings, everyone seems to be coping well."

Byakuya shook his head.

"Even so, we need to be diligent. We do not know if their cases could become more serious," he said, taking a seat in front of her.

"My thoughts exactly," agreed the healer, "I have tested and retested all of the affected ones here in the Seireitei and I am going to Karakura Town to check in about three possible cases there."

"Who are they?" asked Byakuya, "I know about Urahara-san and Kurosaki Ichigo, but..."

"Word came in that Ishida Ryuken, Ishida Uryu's father collapsed at work at the hospital."

"I see."

Byakuya took a slow breath, thinking carefully.

"May I see the list of patients?" he asked, "I have a suspicion I would like to examine."

"Of course," Unohana said, handing him the list.

Byakuya read the names and nodded.

"I see," he said again.

"You must have come to the conclusion I did," said Unohana, "Can you confirm for me that all of those on the list were at Kuchiki manor for the celebration?"

"Yes," said the noble, "They were all there. All of them."

"And I have confirmed that there were no other gatherings that all of them attended within a timeframe significant to this outbreak. Add to that the fact that all of the affected seem to have begun showing symptoms around the same time and no new cases have come up, and it occurs to me that somehow these people may have been affected by something they ate, drank, or came into contact with at the party. I would like your permission to evacuate and completely examine Kuchiki Manor, as well as all family, staff and guests who are there now and would have been at the party."

"You will have our full cooperation," Byakuya assured her.

He summoned a hell butterfly and laid out his orders, then sent it off on its way.

"Unohana taichou," he asked, "How is are Renji and Tetsuya doing? I understand that they lost consciousness."

"Yes," confirmed the healer, "Both are stable and are resting here. They have complained of nausea and dizziness, however, so I am keeping them here for observation for the afternoon, but when we have concluded our business, you are welcome to visit them. They are sharing a room down the hall, for now."

"You mean that there is _more_ going on?" Byakuya asked, looking concerned.

"Oh, the last order of business is about you."

"Me?"

"Yes," said the healer, "I was examining you blood and reiatsu tests and I found that even after treatment, you may still have too much of that factor I told you about, that can interfere with impregnation. But do not worry. I have something here that will offset it, and I am sure that once it does, you should be able to become pregnant."

"Well," said the noble, "with all that is going on, perhaps it is better to put that off anyway. We need to be focusing on getting to the bottom of this."

"And we will," the healer assured him, "But I should conduct a quick check just to confirm whether or not that factor is too prohibitive."

She stood and conducted a brief examination, then frowned and laid a palm on the noble's abdomen.

"Is something wrong?" Byakuya asked.

Unohana smiled.

"No, nothing is wrong. It is just amusing to me that as soon as you suggest that you and Renji should put off having another child, you appear to have been successful in making one."

Byakuya blinked in surprise.

"I am...?"

"You are with child," Unohana said, nodding.

She watched as a quick flash of mixed emotions appeared on his face, and then just as quickly disappeared again.

"I thought that this is what you and Abarai-san wanted, is it not?" asked the healer.

"We both want this very much," said Byakuya, "I didn't mean to imply that I wasn't pleased. It is just..."

"I know things are chaotic, but you and your baby are in perfect health, Kuchiki taichou. And as far as this illness is concerned, the symptoms do not seem too distressing, just uncomfortable, and whatever it is seems to be confined to those who had already contracted it. Take a breath, step back and just allow yourself to be happy. This is going to be quite an adventure for you."

"I am sure that it is," Byakuya said, the beginnings of a smile touching his lips.

"You should go and tell Abarai-san," suggested the healer, "He could probably use something to cheer him up. We had barely awakened him from losing consciousness and he fainted again when we tried to give him a nutrient injection!"

Byakuya bit at his lips, but could not completely fend off a smile.

"Abarai..." he mused, shaking his head.

"I do not think I have encountered one so petrified of needles in my tenure as a taichou," chuckled Unohana.

"Well," said Byakuya, standing, "I had best go and cheer him with the good news, then."

He left the healer's office and followed the hall to the end, where he found Tetsuya resting quietly in one bed and the other empty.

"Tetsuya?" Byakuya said, meeting his cousin's eyes, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Tetsuya assured him, "I was just not feeling well and shouldn't have been sparring. I feel much better now."

"That is good," the noble said, nodding, "Tomio will be relieved. But do you know where Renji is?"

"Ah, yes," said Tetsuya, glancing at the other bed, "He's a couple of doors down, talking to Hisagi Shuuhei. I guess he is ill too."

"Even so, Renji is supposed to be resting. I know he must be concerned for his friend, but..."

He turned out of the room and walked back along the hall to a room where he heard Renji's voice talking quietly.

"I want you to be really sure about this," Renji said in a quiet, serious tone, "Because if it's true, then it is going to blow the shit out of my life. I know we were alone and talking together that night, but Shuu, I honestly don't remember doing anything that could have resulted in..."

"Look, I don't want to mess up your life. You think I _asked_ for this? Yeah, it still hurts that you left me all that time ago and yeah, I still have feelings for you. But I'm telling you the truth. The only one I remember being with that night was you. I don't remember what happened while we were there. I only remember talking to you. But...this...what they found. Renji, I can't think of any other answer. I am definitely pregnant...and this baby has to be yours!"

Byakuya's face went ghostly white and his heart seemed to stop in his chest. He took a pained, stabbing breath, then stepped forward into the room. Renji and Shuuhei looked up as he entered the room, then froze, staring at him silently. Byakuya looked Shuuhei in the eyes and the ninth division fukutaichou paled and stared back at him wordlessly.

"Hisagi fukutaichou," the noble said in a calm, controlled voice, "If my husband said that it is not his child you are carrying, then it is not."

"But..." Renji whispered, sounding sick to his stomach, "the healer we talked to said that Shuu's pregnancy is unusual in that they can't tell right now, who the father is. the baby is in full reiatsu form and there is no chamber, just an odd reiatsu sort of clinging to his. But it's a kind of pregnancy, just not one they're accustomed to seeing. And Byakuya, the guy we talked to ran outta here looking like he'd seen a ghost, sputtering something about this having to do with why everyone's been getting sick. Something really weird is happening here...and...it means..."

"Nothing," Byakuya said quietly, "Renji, listen to me. You love me. And...I do not care what strange thing is going on or what may have happened that night at the party. You did not have sex with Hisagi Shuuhei that night. You wouldn't have. You would not do that...no matter what."

Tears came to Renji's eyes and he shook his head and bit at his lips.

"B-byakuya, you can't know that," he said in a shaky voice, "The healers can't even tell."

Byakuya shook his head slowly.

"I do not need a healer to tell me this. I already know."

"Byakuya...I see what you're doing," Renji said, fighting back tears, "And I love you for it. I do. And I know I was pissed when you saw us together and overreacted before, but if this is..."

"No, Renji, it isn't true," Byakuya said firmly, "I know it isn't."

"But, Byakuya, we have to face the facts. Shuuhei was with me alone that night, and neither of us remembers what happened. Shuu is pregnant. And...they are checking right now to confirm if I may also be pregnant."

"But Unohana taichou said just yesterday that you were not," objected the noble.

"Yeah, I know," acknowledged Renji, "But what the healer that just examined us both said, is that because it is a unique form of pregnancy, it is difficult to detect, so they have to do a different kind of test. Hell, this guy only figured it out kinda by mistake. But if it's true, then Shuuhei and I...and a whole hell of a lot of people got pregnant at that party. And there's one damning thing that you know. We both know that you know it. _We_ had sex that night, but I took you. There's no way that you could be the father if I am pregnant. And the only time I can't account for is that time I was with Shuuhei. Byakuya..."

"I am...so sorry, Kuchiki taichou," said Shuuhei in a trembling voice, "I...wouldn't..."

"You said that you still have feelings for my husband," Byakuya said coldly, "Tell me something, Hisagi fukutaichou. Do you really not remember being with someone else? Or are you, perhaps, conveniently forgetting something?"

"I have the results of your tests, Abarai fukutaichou!" the healer exclaimed, bursting through the door and into the room, "It is confirmed. You are definitely pregnant."


	9. What Faith Means

**Chapter 9: What Faith Means**

_"I have the results of your tests, Abarai fukutaichou!" the healer exclaimed, bursting through the door and into the room, "It is confirmed. You are definitely pregnant."_

Renji's eyes closed for a moment, his expression one of agony. He took a stabbing breath, not daring to look at Byakuya.

"Shit...that's it then...isn't it?" he whispered, feeling as though something had hit him hard in the stomach and was still pounding on him, "Oh my god...that's it. I..."

He raised his eyes to meet Byakuya's, expecting his own devastation to be mirrored in his lover's eyes. To his surprise, Byakuya's eyes remained calm and quiet, his face composed. And rather than feeling forced, he evinced a quiet strength that was one of the things that Renji loved most about him.

"I imagine that the two of you will need to discuss things in private for a while. Renji, I have some things to see to, then I will be returning home. Rest well, and if you need anything, send a hell butterfly."

He offered the redhead a chaste kiss on the cheek and left quietly.

He hadn't even gotten halfway home when a hell butterfly arrived from the council of elders.

"_Byakuya-sama, word has reached us of the horrid scandal involving your husband. Council is in chambers and requests your presence as soon as possible to try to mediate the damage. This coming on the heels of the illnesses reported after Councilor Tetsuya's promotion celebration could be disastrous for the clan. We shall very much need your input to decide the best way to handle things._"

Byakuya sighed softly, a strange numbness falling over him.

_It is so odd. I should have felt something when the healer announced Renji's pregnancy...anger? jealousy? pain? But the only thing that was in my heart was a sadness at seeing Renji's despair. I couldn't feel anything else. And even though I heard the healer's words and I know the logic that supports the possibility that Renji and Shuuhei are having each others' babies...it simply doesn't ring true in my heart. _

_But...I am not saying it isn't true._

_Still, even if it turns out to be true, I feel it in my heart that Renji did not willingly lie down with another lover, then return to our bed that night. So...even if his body did betray him, he did not break his vows to me willingly._

_That said...he will come home and we will work things out. Because that is what you do when you love someone. You have faith in them._

_And faith doesn't just mean loving someone and trusting that person when it is easy and when logic and rationality support it. It means believing in the one you love and not letting go, even when logic and rationality abandon you. This is the support that Renji needs. If they really did make those babies together, then Renji will be as devastated as I am. He may think to let go of me...not to reject me, but because he will blame himself for what happened._

_It will be extremely difficult to convince him not to hate himself for this._

He realized suddenly that he had reached the council hall and was standing at the bottom of the front steps and gazing dazedly ahead. He took a steadying breath and climbed the steps slowly, steeling himself with each one. And by the time he reached the meeting chambers, all emotion had come tightly under his control. He took his place at the head of the table and sat quietly as the agenda was read, then listened wordlessly as the situation was laid out in the head councilor's words.

"Byakuya-sama," Nori said, shaking his head, "We have just received word from a family member visiting the fourth division that, not only has there been a terrible debacle that occurred the night of Councilor Tetsuya's promotion celebration, but that Abarai Renji and Hisagi Shuuhei have apparently fathered children by each other that night. Word has already leaked out about what is happening and we stand on the verge of public humiliation because of this. The other clans are outraged and demanding a statement to explain ourselves. We understand that you must be incensed with your husband and emotions are high, but we need to address this matter promptly, before it becomes a shattering scandal."

"You want to know what statement to make to the other clans?" Byakuya asked softly, standing, "I will tell you what you can say to them."

He cleared his throat softly.

"You may issue a general statement to all clans on the noble's general council that the full details of the situation are not known, and it would be premature to make any assumptions about, first, who or what caused the outbreak of impregnations being reported after the celebration, and secondly, who fathered Renji and Hisagi-san's children. It is not possible to determine who fathered those babies, so it is presumptuous and insulting for anyone to hurl accusations at this point. The Kuchiki clan will issue a statement of the facts and choose a course of action when, and only when, all of the facts are known."

Byakuya looked around the silent room, reading the councilors' faces and suffering a jolt of intense sadness at what he found in their eyes.

_They think that I am not seeing the reality. They think that pain has incapacitated my ability to act. But that isn't it. That isn't it at all._

"Let me make one more thing clear to all of you. And this is on a personal note, so consider it privately and confidentially stated. I have perfect confidence that whatever the truth about the paternity of those children is, Abarai Renji never chose to be unfaithful to me. If indeed, the children are his and Hisagi Shuuhei's, then whatever caused all of those guests to become pregnant was a malevolent contaminant that overcame reason. And if that is so, then I expect that you will hold Renji blameless, as I will. I fully understand that this situation is chaotic, and there is the tendency to want to make proper explanations...but I will warn you that to do so could have consequences as great or greater than simply being, in this case, honest. We do not know all of the facts...and we will not jump to conclusions until all facts have been gathered. What is happening here is affecting the lives and honor of many, not just Renji and me, so we will request at this time, patience and cooperation as we seek the details of what has happened."

He felt the turning of their minds, the support of some, the disgust of others. But their eyes registered acceptance, so he said no more. He sat down and listened quietly to the councilors weighing the words to be used in their official statement and the strategies to minimize that fallout. He said nothing to anyone for the rest of the meeting, and left in silence when it ended. He started back towards the manor, and was surprised when Arashi appeared alongside him, carrying Tetsuya.

"I thought that Unohana taichou had said that you should stay in the healing center," Byakuya said quietly.

"I am fine now," Tetsuya responded softly, "Unohana taichou has confirmed that Tomio and I are with child. Apparently, we came into contact with whatever affected those at the celebration...and we did exchange pleasures that night, so it is neither unexpected, nor unwelcome."

Byakuya smiled gently at his younger cousin and accepted his hand, and took a position behind him on Arashi's back.

"And on an odd side note, it seems that Arashi is in foal. Makoto confirmed it this afternoon."

"That is very odd," noted Byakuya, frowning, "So...whatever the guests came into contact with, he did as well, ne?"

"It seems so."

"So it most likely wasn't anything in the food or drink, ne?" mused Byakuya.

"I cannot say with certainty, as he was in the area during the party and I was not watching him the entire time. Add to that, I find there are gaps in what I remember from that night. Tomio says the same."

"So whatever you were exposed to...may have affected your memory of events?" Byakuya asked.

"Perhaps," said Tetsuya.

"Does Arashi remember anything helpful?"

"No, not really," admitted the younger man, "And because of his special bond with me, we cannot be sure that his condition wasn't a side effect of my own...though, he did not have this effect when I became pregnant with Takao and Kiko."

"Hmmm..."

The two went quiet for several minutes. Then, Tetsuya took a steadying breath and went on.

"Byakuya-sama, there is...another pregnancy that I have been asked to...inform you about."

Byakuya tilted his head in askance, frowning.

"Rukia-chan is pregnant. And...she is beside herself because, according to what she remembers, she was with no man that night."

"What about Kurosaki?" Byakuya said, his reiatsu flaring softly.

"Ichigo-san was with Urahara-san, and they are reportedly both pregnant and remember being together sexually that night. But he was not with Rukia-chan, except to talk...and they were never alone. Orihime-chan insists that she remembers the whole night clearly, and no one laid down with Rukia-chan. Of all of the pregnancies, hers is hardest to explain."

"That is very odd," Byakuya said, shaking his head, "The facts of this are so troubling, because we have no idea what caused this, and what the exact effects were."

"And even the effects from couple to couple are not a constant. Rangiku-chan says that even though she had relations with one of the guests that night, she is not pregnant. She thought she was, but it was confirmed at the fourth that she was not."

"So...whatever the others were exposed to, she was not..." Byakuya concluded.

"Unohana taichou is questioning everyone about what they remember, but with all of the drinking and the fact of time passing..."

"It will be some time, given that and the number of people involved, to get to the bottom of this."

"Yes."

"Tetsuya."

"Hmmm?"

"Did you...see Renji before you left the fourth division?"

Tetsuya hesitated.

"Tetsuya?"

"I saw him."

Byakuya closed his eyes.

"And?"

"He looked very upset, Nii-sama. He looked heartbroken."

"And?"

"He said that...he had something that he had to do, but that he would meet you at home."

"Very well."

They said no more as the stallion carried them back to the manor, where they dismounted and Tetsuya followed Arashi off to the barn. Byakuya stepped onto the walkway and proceeded to his bedroom, an odd feeling of foreboding creeping into his heart. And upon entering the room, he discovered why.

Renji sat quietly on the edge of the bed, a packed bag next to him, and his eyes lowered.

"What are you doing?" Byakuya said, his voice shaking slightly, "Renji?"

The redhead's devastated eyes rose to meet his.

"I am...doing what I have to," he said, his voice quaking, "I know that word leaked out about Shuuhei and me, and that the elders called you in to put pressure on you to..."

"First of all," Byakuya said quietly, "leaving me is not something that you _have to do_. It is a choice that you are making. Secondly, the elders, though they had heard the leaked information, were only meeting with me to assess the facts of the situation and to formulate some kind of statement to be made to the noble's general council about what is happening. And...finally, you...you _promised me_ that you would not do this! You gave me your word, Renji."

"I know I did," Renji acknowledged, a tear sliding down his face, "But the fact is that it would be selfish to hang on to you at this point. It doesn't mean shit that I didn't choose it. I had sex with another guy and brought shame to your family. I _know_ how that works, Byakuya, and so do you. Staying is only going to make you look bad..."

"And you will make me _look better_ by abandoning me?" Byakuya asked in a low, sarcastic tone.

"Aw, hell, we're both going to be swimming in shit and you know it," the redhead sighed, "But...if I don't at least try to show some concern for the children involved in this..."

"_We_ have a child together as well, Abarai. Did you forget Akitora? And I might as well tell you that..."

"I won't neglect Tora. I will come over here every day to see her if she wants me to. I won't neglect her."

_But you are leaving me._

_After you swore that you never would..._

"Byakuya...I...I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am about this. I don't want to hurt you."

"Then stay."

"I can't stay here now, and if you'd stop letting your emotions cloud your judgment for a second, you'd see that. You know I'm right. Think about it. Maybe everywhere else outside of the noble homes, we could stick our heads in the ground and let this blow over, but there is no way a noble house is going to tolerate us going on with me fucking having some other guy's kid! Byakuya, you _know_ that!"

"I don't need council approval to live my life the way I want to!" Byakuya shouted, finally losing his grip on his swelling emotions, "I never have. And they will tolerate this just fine, considering that not all the facts are in, and if you would just show a modicum of patience and not rush out before everything is known, then..."

"Byakuya!" Renji yelled back, "The fact is, this can't be your kid! It can't! And no matter what facts come in, that isn't going to change. And that being the case, you know it's going to cause a huge scandal and make you look weak to them."

"I don't give a _damn_ how I look to them!" Byakuya cried, grabbing Renji by the front of his shihakushou and dragging him to his feet, "I am _not_...letting you go!"

"You think I want to go?" Renji, whispered, his voice breaking, "I have my fucking dreams come true...everything I ever wanted in Akitora and you, Byakuya. And then, this happens. And even though you say I could stay, I know it would drag you down. You would look to the other clans like a guy who refused to see reality and send me packing. And your own clan would feel embarrassed to have to keep making explanations. This way, the clan can say that you and I have separated, due to my infidelity. You might actually gain some understanding that way."

"I don't want their understanding!" Byakuya yelled in his face, "I want you to stay!"

"D-daddy Bya? Daddy Ren?" Akitora said from the doorway.

Byakuya released the front of Renji's shihakushou and took a steadying breath, swiftly brushing the threatening tears away from his eyes.

"Sorry, Tora," Renji said, opening his arms as the girl ran across the room and launched herself into his embrace, "We didn't mean to scare you."

"Don't go away!" Akitora sobbed, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding on tightly, "Don't go away, Daddy Ren! I want you to stay with us too!"

"Whoa...hold on," Renji said, sitting back down on the bed and kissing the inconsolable child on the head, "I'm not going to disappear, Tora. I'll still be here every day to see you and spend time with you. Look, I know it's really confusing, but...sometimes things happen that can make even people who love each other have to live apart from each other."

"But WHY?" wailed the girl, "Why are you leaving Daddy Bya? You're making him yell and swear and cry, and he NEVER does that!"

"Don't you understand, Tora?" Renji said, barely holding back his own tears, "I don't want to go at all! I don't. But..."

"Don't tell me that it's because of us being a noble family!" yelled Akitora, "I have heard that damn excuse until I can't stand it anymore!"

"Akitora!" snapped Byakuya.

"No!" she cried, striking Renji's shoulder with a fist and making him wince, "I don't care about the rules! If Daddy Ren is leaving the clan, then Daddy Bya and I are going too! I don't care what you say! I will follow you if you try to leave and I'll make Daddy Bya lock you in your room! You are not leaving! You're not! I WON'T LET YOU!"

She collapsed against the redhead, beating his shoulder with her small hands and repeating, "I won't let you go! I won't let you go!"

She descended into incoherent sobs as Byakuya gently disentangled her grasping hands from Renji, and sat down on the bed, holding the crying girl tightly in his arms.

"It will be all right, Akitora," he said gently, running his fingers through her thick hair and kissing her on top of her head, "Renji is doing what he feels he has to. And he has promised that he will come here every day he can to see us."

"B-but you s-said that you wanted him to st-stay!"

"I do. But...you cannot force someone to do everything you say. We all make our choices as best we can, even if some choices hurt. But just because Renji won't be living with us, does not mean that he will not come to see us, or that he loves us any less."

He turned his wet eyes on the redhead as if to say, _Go now, if you are, indeed, leaving._

Renji steeled himself against the heavy emotions as he rose, and Akitora descended into sobs again. He stepped toward the doorway, stopping as he reached it, and looking back to where Byakuya sat with his eyes closed tightly and holding Akitora against him.

_Shit._

_What was I thinking?_

_I know that the noble's general council and the elders here will give him hell for this, but...how can I do this? How can I walk out that door?_

_They are my family. This is the family we built together, and I was about to let it fall apart. Every day of my childhood in Inuzuri, I promised myself that if I ever had a family, I would never leave them. And Byakuya's right...I promised not to go. So..._

He let his pack fall from his numbed hand and turned back, walking slowly to the bed, sitting down and wrapping his arms around Byakuya and their distraught daughter. Byakuya froze, breathless as Renji spoke into his ear.

"I can't do it. I can't go. Even though I know what they could do to you. You are right. Whatever the price, I can't let go of you and Tora. I wouldn't have a life if it wasn't for you."

He cupped Akitora's small, tearstained face in one large hand.

"I am sorry," he said, tears sliding down his face, "I am sorry for ever even thinking I could walk out that door. So, I'm not going. And I promise you. I won't even think of ever doing such a thing again. I know now that I can't. I just can't. I can't leave you."

"Well, look who finally found the marbles he lost!" exclaimed Akitora, glaring at him and smacking him across the face, "You are _impossible_, Abarai!"

"Huh..." Renji said weakly, an unbidden smile touching his lips, "Now, who's she been listening to...Byakuya?"

"Don't make me have to knock some sense into your stupid head again, mister!" the girl went on, "Don't you _ever_ say you are going to leave us again..._ever_!"

"Whoa!" Renji gasped as Akitora flung herself into his arms and started crying again, "Okay...I said I wouldn't. It's okay, Tora. I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."

"Daddy Bya should wash your mouth out with soap," the girl demanded, "That was worse than a hundred swears!"

"I think it was worse than a thousand," commented Byakuya, meeting Renji's eyes fleetingly, "If you ever say such things to me again, Renji, so help me I _will _beat you senseless!"

"And I'll sit on you and hold you down, like I do to Takao!" added Akitora.


	10. Tension

**Chapter 10: Tension**

Byakuya stirred in Renji's arms, waking to an uncomfortable feeling of nausea and a disquieting ache in his belly. Renji sighed in his sleep and his hand slid down to gently tease the noble's soft, warm privates. Byakuya felt a twinge of guilt at being deceptive, but felt unprepared to speak to the redhead about their child when so much else was nagging at them. And Renji's words to him from before only made him feel more certain that remaining silent was the better course of action.

_"I'm...really sorry about all of this. I wish there was some way to take it back...to do it over again and just...have gone to bed with you that night. But I can't undo this. It's just this...awful thing hanging over our heads, Byakuya."_

_"We will survive this," Byakuya whispered, seeking Renji's lips, "And we will move forward. We will come through this, Renji." _

_He thought carefully for a moment, and concluded that it was best to be honest about his pregnancy._

_"And..." he went on, "I want you to know that...I am keeping the promise I made to you. I...am going to have your child, Renji, just as I said I would."_

_He caught his breath in surprise as Renji lowered his eyes and shook his head gently._

_"I know you will," Renji said, misunderstanding his words, "But...I think it wouldn't be a good thing right now, you know? Everything is really messed up. We are both under...so much stress. We couldn't really enjoy it. I'm not saying that it won't happen...just that now isn't the time."_

_Byakuya gave him a sad smile._

_"I see."_

_"Byakuya, I'm sorry."_

_"I understand."_

Byakuya bit his lip gently and sent a soft throb of kido through the redhead, deepening his sleep. Then, he brought Renji's hand up from where they rested on his privates, and set it on his trim abdomen, letting his reiatsu tease Renji's, until the redhead's began to flow out and pour into Byakuya's body, slowly stabilizing the baby's reiatsu and his.

_It is not honest, perhaps. But Renji is so wrapped up in this chaos around us, he just doesn't want to do this now. So, I will respect that and wait for a better time to tell him._

_Once things settle..._

He relaxed in Renji's arms, letting the balancing reiatsu fill and stabilize him, then left Renji sleeping and slipped out into the early morning semi-darkness.

Despite the fact that the sweet scents of the garden just before dawn usually calmed him, they seemed instead to bring him only a vague discomfort, an ache in his belly that sent him out the back gate and along the forest trail, where the heavier scent of pine took away some of the nauseating sweetness. He reached the top of the waterfall and spotted someone sitting underneath the sakura tree he favored. A moment later, he recognized the person as Tetsuya.

"Nii-sama," the blue-eyed noble said softly in greeting as Byakuya sat down, "You are up as early as usual."

"You as well," Byakuya replied, "though, if I recall correctly, the last time you were with child, you seemed to develop a habit of 'sleeping in.' It is not like that, this time?"

"No, actually," Tetsuya reported, "In fact, except for the initial nausea, vomiting and fainting, both Tomio and I are finding there are not so many cravings or aversions, and we have not had any need for the bonding that was so critical last time. Unohana taichou is exploring that, because it differs so greatly from the way we are usually impregnated."

"It does seem very odd, though a relief that the bonding is not needed, as Rukia and a few others seem uncertain about the identities of the fathers of their babies."

"Have you spoken to Rukia yet?" asked Tetsuya.

"No," Byakuya said, shaking his head, "I have not seen her. She has either been at the fourth division for appointments, herself, or she has been there to visit her taichou. Ukitake taichou is in a bad way, because his condition makes his health a tenuous thing. Unohana taichou was conflicted about allowing his pregnancy to proceed, but he seems very set on having the child."

"And who can blame him?" Tetsuya said, looking down at his belly.

Byakuya followed the path of his eyes and caught his breath softly.

"Tetsuya, you already have a 'baby bump?'" he queried, "Is this because it is your second?"

"Ah...I don't think so, because both Tomio and Arashi are also developing at an accelerated rate. I was planning to go to Unohana taichou to ask about it lat..."

He paused as Byakuya's face paled, and the clan leader winced.

"Are you all right, Nii-sama?" Tetsuya asked, frowning, "You look very pale...and you look like you might be ill."

"I am fine," Byakuya assured him, standing, "I think the stress is just catching up with me."

"Perhaps some more sleep," Tetsuya suggested.

"I was hoping that the walk and fresh air would clear my mind so I _could _sleep."

"You have a lot on your mind right now," Tetsuya acknowledged, "I...overheard Tora telling Kiko about Renji-san nearly leaving."

"Yes," Byakuya said, shifting uncomfortably, "She was very upset. We did make sure she was asleep before we left her tonight. You mean she...?"

"She apparently couldn't sleep and joined Kiko in her room. Her attendant went with her."

"Ah, I see."

Byakuya bit at his lips as a stronger swell of nausea swept over him, and his face paled even more. He rose and turned away from Tetsuya to hide his discomfort.

"Well, I had best go back. I am feeling somewhat tired after all."

"Oh, good night, Nii-sama...or rather, good morning," Tetsuya said, smiling as they parted ways.

Byakuya flash stepped back towards the manor, but found himself overcome before reaching the back gate, and moved into the trees to relieve himself of the feeling of sickness. He sat quietly for several minutes, until the ringing left his ears, then slipped into the garden and picked a few fresh mint leaves to chew on. He sighed softly and turned back towards his room, longing for the warmth of Renji's arms, despite all of the troubles surrounding them.

He was surprised upon entering the room, to find that Renji was no longer in their bed.

A moment later, Koji entered the room.

"Ah, you are back, Byakuya-sama," he said, his eyes betraying some anxiety.

"Yes," he agreed, "Will you tell me? Where is Renji?"

"Ah...um," Koji said, looking more uncomfortable, "He asked me to tell you that a hell butterfly arrived from Hisagi Shuuhei, and that he seemed very out of sorts and in need of Renji-san's assistance with...something."

"Oh," Byakuya said, swallowing against the renewed feeling of illness, "Arigatou. You may go."

"Yes, Byakuya-sama," Koji said, turning and fleeing the room.

"D-daddy Bya?"

Byakuya turned to find Akitora standing in the doorway, peering into the darkened room and rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Daddy Bya?" she repeated in a scared sounding voice, "Where is Daddy Ren?"

Tears welled up in her eyes and overflowed onto her face.

"He d-didn't leave us, did he?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"No," Byakuya said, reassuringly, "He just...had to go to work at the ninth division. You know that Renji and I are taichous and we sometimes have to work. That is all he is doing. He will be back soon enough. It is early yet. Go on back to bed."

"But, I can't sleep. Can I stay with you?" the girl asked.

Byakuya sighed.

"I thought that you were sleeping over with Kiko tonight. That is what Tetsuya told me."

"I was," Akitora explained, "But she fell asleep and I was still awake, and I started thinking about Daddy Ren and how he was going to leave us, and it made me sad again."

"Well, there is no need to be sad, child. Renji promised us that he would not even think of saying such a thing to us again. He realized that he made a mistake, and you remember that he did apologize to us and we accepted his apology."

"After hitting him and yelling at him," the girl recalled, "But, Daddy Bya? Even though Daddy Ren said he was sorry and we accepted his apology, it still made my tummy hurt to think about it and I still wanted to sit on him and hit him a lot."

"Hmmm," said the clan leader, "Well, sometimes, though we make ourselves do the right thing in forgiving someone when they make a mistake...the pain of their mistake takes some time to leave us. We just have to be strong and make ourselves let go of the anger and hurt."

"Are you mad and sad too, Daddy Bya?" Akitora asked.

"A bit," the noble admitted.

"That's why you aren't sleeping either," the girl observed, "Does your tummy hurt? My tummy hurts when I just think about when Daddy Ren said he was leaving us."

"Mine too," Byakuya agreed, "But it is nothing that people of strong heart like us cannot manage, if we put our minds to it. Now, lie down and go back to sleep for a while."

"Okay, but can we have pancakes and whipped cream and strawberries when we wake up?"

"I will tell you what," said Byakuya, "You and I will not just _have_ pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. We will make them ourselves. Would you like that?"

"Ooh, yes, Daddy Bya!" Akitora said, sounding pleased.

"But, first, you must get a bit more rest. Lie down."

Byakuya slid into the bed and smiled as Akitora curled up behind his back and yawned sleepily.

"Good night, Daddy Bya," she said, then she giggled, "I mean, good morning, but I'm not getting up yet."

"Well, good night and good morning, but I am not getting up yet, either," he said, smirking.

He rested quietly, enjoying the warmth of her face where it rested on a nest of silken hair on the back of one of his shoulders.

_The onl_y _thing missing now is Renji._

_I wonder what Hisagi Shuuhei encountered that could not wait until morning..._

_I do not want to give in to the feeling of anger it gives me that he just left like that. But, in all fairness, he doesn't know that I, too, am pregnant. And despite the fact that before all of this, he would never have missed the signs of the changes in me, he is distracted. I just have to let him work this out in his own way. _

_I will not get into a competition with that man for my own husband's affections._

_Renji loves me._

_He will not hurt me by being unfaithful._

_He will come back._

A mental image of Renji, sitting at the noodle shop, laughing and talking with Shuuhei, flashed in Byakuya's resistant mind, bringing on another wave of nausea. He slipped out of bed and flash stepped to the bathroom, where he fell gracelessly to his knees and emptied his stomach as quietly as he could, so as not to wake his sleeping daughter.

"Daddy Bya, are you okay? Your face is all white."

"I will be fine," Byakuya said calmly, "Go back to..."

He broke off as another wave of nausea passed over him and was joined by a smattering of glowing stars across his field of vision. Akitora's frightened voice sounded beside him, and he tried to answer, but found himself unable.

The next thing he knew, everything had gone black around him and he was falling.

XXXXXXXXXX

Renji swallowed an uncomfortable knot of guilt and slipped out of the manor and onto the darkened streets, his heart afflicted by memories of the pain he had caused Byakuya and Akitora, and the fact of his leaving the noble to attend to 'the other man.'

_Not that I would ever leave Byakuya to go back to Shuu. He was a good friend, but I never should have...ah, well, it's in the past._

_Except that now the past is coming back to slam me in the face. But it isn't even me taking the worst of it. I really hurt Byakuya and Tora. And the sad thing is, I made it seem like I really would choose Shuu over them, when that is the farthest thing from the truth. I'm only doing what I am right now, because I got the guy pregnant_, _whether I meant to or not, so I have to own up and be there for him._

_But...I wanted so much for Byakuya to get pregnant with my kid. I know that he doesn't really enjoy bottoming or the idea of carrying a child, but I can't help craving the sight of him sporting a cute little baby bump and letting me spoil him rotten, because he's usually so tough and independent. But everyone needs to let down and be taken care of sometimes. I guess I just like being in a position where he needs me. I usually feel like he could get along just fine without me._

_Still...the way he reacted when I started to leave made a lie out of that._

_Byakuya may be really strong, but the guy has a heart. And he let me inside it. I haven't forgotten what a struggle that was for him. I don't want to screw this up. There's too much at stake for that. So, I'll do what I have to for Shuu, but as soon as that's done, I'm going home to Byakuya and I'm going to make things right with him and Tora._

He opened the door to the ninth and was taken aback as Shuuhei's arms wrapped around him, and the other man's distraught voice sounded.

"Renji, thanks so much for coming here!" he said, sounding genuinely relieved, "I don't know what's wrong with me. Unohana taichou said that everything is fine, as far as they can tell. But, I keep throwing up...so much I can't even make myself a cup of tea. And I keep having nightmares, and I start laughing or crying for no reason! It's so weird!"

"Well," Renji sighed, feeling annoyed at having been dragged away from his family for what seemed to be relatively minor symptoms of pregnancy.

_But then, Shuu is a guy, and unlike me, he has never been pregnant. So, every little thing is going to scare him. I was kinda that way, so I do get it._

He gently extracted himself from the other man and started down the hallway.

"Go and get out of that uniform," he said, shaking his head, "I'll make you some tea and be right there."

"Thanks," Shuuhei said, biting his lips nervously, "Thanks a lot, Renji."

Renji watched him go off to his room, and went to the squad kitchen to make the tea. Halfway through, he realized that he had made the tea the way that Byakuya took it, which happened to be pretty much the opposite way that Shuuhei liked his. He sighed in annoyance, yawning sleepily as he started the tea over again, then stumbled down the hallway to Shuuhei's quarters. He stepped inside the room and caught scents of soap and shampoo in the air. A moment later, Shuuhei stepped out of the bathroom, dressed only in a towel. He spotted Renji, standing just inside the room, carrying a tea tray.

"Oh, thanks, Renji," he said, a blush rising on his skin.

He moved to the bed and sat down, then took a sip of the tea.

"Ah...that is better, although I had to get out of the shower to throw up twice. I didn't eat that much today. I don't know why I'm throwing up so much."

Renji nodded and indicated a few leaves of peppermint that he had taken from his pocket and set on the tray.

"You're just having normal pregnancy symptoms, that's all," Renji assured him, "Just chew on those mint leaves and keep some lemons around. The scent of lemons always helped me with the nausea. Eat little bits every now and then, and cat nap during the day so it won't be so bad if you can't sleep at night. That's what I did."

"Oh...okay."

Shuuhei looked down at the floor.

"You must think I'm really stupid for calling you over here for something so minor. I feel better now. You can go if you want."

"Don't worry about it," the redhead said, shaking his head, "I was pretty nervous my first time getting knocked up too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So don't worry about it all. Just...call me if you need me and don't feel bad about it. I may not be able to drop everything and..."

He paused as a hell butterfly arrived.

_"Abarai taichou," _said Soutaichou's gruff voice, _"There has been a disturbance at the shinigami base in Hueco Mundo. Eleventh division forces were sent, but are being overrun. Intelligence indicates that the hollows have heard rumors of the outbreak of pregnancies and are attacking because they think that it has weakened us to where we are vulnerable. I would send another unaffected taichou, but the truth is that all have been given assignments. You are the only taichou available to respond as Kuchiki taichou was just admitted to the fourth division. Unohana taichou says that his condition is stable and she is running some tests, but she does not see any need for you to abandon your duties to go to him. And the simple truth is, we cannot spare you. Go at once to the base and show the hollows that they have underestimated us!"_

"Shit!" Renji snapped furiously, "Just great!"

Shuuhei stood and his towel fell away as he grabbed his uniform and started to dress. At the same moment, Koji flash stepped into the hallway, calling Renji's name. He slid to a stop at Shuuhei's open door, staring in dismay at Renji, then at the half naked man beside him. Renji cleared his throat and ignored the blush that roared across his face as he took Koji by the arm and hustled him out of the room.

"What's going on?" Renji asked, "Is this about Byakuya being taken to the fourth divison?"

Koji gave him a startled look.

"I just got a hell butterfly telling me that, but with no details. What happened?"

"Erm..." the young man said, looking obviously flustered, "W-well, Torio said that Byakuya-sama was restless and had been walking in the gardens."

"I knew that," Renji said tersely, "I saw him leave the room. I was going to find him when I was summoned here."

"R-right," Koji agreed, glancing at Shuuhei's door.

Renji frowned.

"Koji, I think you might be misunderstanding what you saw..."

"Oh, um, no sir," the attendant said, shaking his head firmly, "I am sure that there is a perfectly understandable reason that you were in there with that man and he was naked."

"He had just showered to relax him so that his pregnancy symptoms wouldn't be so bad..."

"You don't owe me any explanations, sir," Koji said quickly, "I will assume that it was all more innocent than it looked."

"Hey, it's not like I was touching the guy or anything!" Renji objected.

"No, of course you weren't," Koji agreed.

Renji gave a frustrated sigh.

"Look, don't do that! I know you think that something was going on and you just don't want to say it. And I'm telling you, _nothing happened_. I am not cheating on Byakuya with Shuuhei, okay? I'm not going to do something stupid like that!"

Renji nearly groaned as he realized that a fully uniformed Shuuhei had entered the room, and was blinking back tears and wiping his eyes.

_Holy hell, can any damned thing go right?_

_All I can think about is that Byakuya's in the hospital, and he's going to wake up and I'm not going to be there._

"Look, we have to go," Renji said, turning towards the door, "Come on, Shuu. We need to get to the base before the eleventh gets obliterated. Move. Koji, take a message to Byakuya and wait there for him to wake up. When he's conscious, you tell him that I am coming to him, okay? You tell him I will be there as soon as things are stabilized at the base."

"Yes, sir, Renji-san!" Koji said, turning and flash stepping away.

"Well, that's one problem solved...sort of."

He caught sight of his weepy-eyed fukutaichou and gave him a bracing smile.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but..."

"I shouldn't be so sensitive," Shuuhei said, sounding disgusted with himself, "I know that, but I just can't seem to help it."

"Pregnancy..." Renji muttered, shaking his head.

"So, why aren't you even sick now?" Shuuhei asked as they started towards the base.

"I don't know...been pregnant before, so maybe I am just dealing with it a little better or something. Come on, we need to move faster. You gonna be okay now?"

"Yeah," said Shuuhei, keeping close to his side, "As long as you're around, I feel better."

_Great..._

_What the hell am I going to do about this?_

_It's pretty damned clear that Shuuhei is still attracted to me._

_And because he's pregnant, I can't just hit him with the facts. I have to be gentler with him while he's messed up like this._

_Fuck...I don't want to deal with any of this shit!_

_All I want is to go to Byakuya right now. I want to know he's okay. The second I get back, I am going to him._


	11. Evacuation

**Chapter 11: Evacuation**

Byakuya felt a small, warm weight pressed against his side, and opened his eyes and turned to find Akitora curled up beside him in a hospital bed in the fourth division, and Rukia sleeping in a chair beside the bed. A hell butterfly hovered beside the bed and floated closer to him as it registered that he had awakened.

_Byakuya, _said Renji's voice,_ I am really sorry that you have to wake up in that place without me there, but the situation with all of us getting pregnant has made the hollows think that with a bunch of the taichous and fukutaichous knocked up, it's a good time to attack. Soutaichou is rotating us around, and with you in the healing center, Zaraki taichou and I were the only ones he could send to push them back. I know that Kuchiki Manor is being evacuated today so that the healers and twelfth division can start their investigation, so when I get back, I will meet you at the living world estate. Again, I am so sorry I can't be there. I love you. Take good care of yourself until I get back and don't give the healers too much trouble._

"Huh..." Byakuya huffed softly, making Akitora stir in her sleep, "He tells _me_ not to cause them trouble. This, from the one who faints instantly at the sign of a tiny needle..."

He turned his head slightly, and found that Rukia had come awake, and was looking at him with a somewhat scared expression.

"Why do you look at me that way?" he asked softly, "Do you think that I do not understand that whatever happened that made you with child is not your fault? My husband, much of my staff, and numerous friends are likewise affected. Why would you think that I would hold this against you?"

"Oh," said Rukia, looking tormented, "I don't. I don't think that you will blame me for this, but I admit that I have been afraid to be honest with you about something, Nii-sama."

"Well," Byakuya said, meeting her eyes calmly, "Why don't you tell me and unburden yourself."

Rukia sighed and looked down at her nervously clasping hands.

"Nii-sama, I know that everyone believes Inoue that I wasn't with anyone sexually that night, but the truth is, I have remembered now that I was."

Byakuya frowned.

"Then, you know who fathered your child?" he asked.

"Erm...no, Nii-sama," Rukia answered, biting at her lips.

"Oh, you know you were with a man, but you do not remember who?" Byakuya asked.

"N-no, Nii-sama," the young woman said haltingly.

She lowered her head penitently.

"The truth is, Nii-sama, that I wasn't with a man at all. Well, not that I remember."

"Ah...but you just said that..."

"I...was with a woman," Rukia admitted in a shaky voice, making Byakuya go silent and stare, "I was...with Inoue Orihime...s-sexually."

"You...and Inoue Orihime?" Byakuya repeated, quietly.

"I...hope Nii-sama is not terribly disappointed with me! Please, don't be angry!" she pleaded.

"Why is it that you think I would be angry?" Byakuya asked, still in a calm tone, "I am married to a man. I am now, and was married to a commoner. As you can see, I have a habit of following my heart when it comes to love. Why would I allow myself that, and deny you the same? I admit to some concern about you loving a human, whose lifeline is so much shorter than your own. But if it is what you feel is right, then I think you must follow your heart."

"R-really, Nii-sama?" Rukia said, looking shocked.

"Yes," affirmed the clan leader, "If you love Orihime, then it is right that you should be together. But...you do have a child on the way. You must also consider the connotations of that. You have no idea who the father could be?"

"No," insisted Rukia, "Nii-sama, that is the strangest thing. Inoue was not affected by whatever I was. She says that I was with her all night. And, erm...when we were sleeping, well...she is a light sleeper and we were...um..."

"Entangled?" Byakuya said matter-of-factly.

"Y-yes!" exclaimed the young woman, "So we have no idea how I could have gotten up and been with anyone else, then gone back to my room and ended up exactly as I had been. It's just not possible."

"Hmm, that is very odd," Byakuya agreed, shaking his head, "But do not worry. Father or no, you have family here to see you through."

Rukia gave him a look of deep gratitude and relief.

"Thank you, Nii-sama!" she sighed, finally relaxing somewhat.

Byakuya's head turned as Akitora stretched, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Daddy Bya?" she said sleepily.

"Akitora."

"Daddy, Bya! You _are _awake. Finally!"

"I am sorry that I frightened you," he apologized, "I wasn't feeling well. I likely neglected myself because things have been very stressful."

"Do you feel better now?" she asked, placing a hand on his forehead, making him smile, "I don't think you have a fever."

"I will be fine now, child," he said, returning her embrace, "Do not worry."

He paused as the door opened and Unohana taichou entered the room.

"Rukia," he said quietly, "Would you mind taking Akitora back to the manor to gather her things for the move to the living world estate?"

"Not at all, Nii-sama," Rukia said, helping the girl down from the tall hospital bed, "We can do that, then she can come to the thirteenth division headquarters with me and help me out. I'm assisting while Ukitake taichou is here."

"He is still in the hospital?" Byakuya asked, frowning.

"Yes," said Unohana taichou, "But he should be released soon. It is just taking a while to make sure that he is stable."

Byakuya watched as Rukia left with Akitora, then looked up at the healer.

"So, do you know why I collapsed like that?" he asked, "Was my reiatsu too low?"

"Your reiatsu is fine. You and Abarai taichou must be doing a good job with the bonding, despite all that is going on."

"Ah..."

"But, Kuchiki taichou, you must take better care of yourself. I know that things are difficult with everything that is going on, but you must still eat properly and get more rest."

"I have been eating as much as I can manage," Byakuya said, shaking his head briefly, "But I do admit that I have not been sleeping well."

"Then, I suggest that after each bonding, Abarai taichou should infuse you with a sleep kido so that you will get more rest."

Byakuya let out a soft, resigned sigh.

"Not to shrug off your advice, but...I have not told Renji about the baby yet. Actually, I tried, but each time, he became distracted, and then he said..."

He paused, biting gently at his lip at the unpleasant memory.

"He said that it wasn't the right time for us to be having another child."

"I see," said the healer, "So, how is it that you have done the bonding?"

"I made him sleep deeply and we bonded while he was sleeping."

"Hmmm," said Unohana, "I think that you should reconsider telling him."

"I will tell him," Byakuya assured her, "I would have told him already, if not for being stopped...although...I wonder if he wants this child."

"Kuchiki taichou," the healer said reprovingly, "How can you say that? You know that Abarai taichou loves you. And he was the one in here only days ago, stating loudly that he was determined to make you pregnant."

"I know," Byakuya said solemnly, "But...that was before. Now, between his new post as a taichou and Hisagi Shuuhei and him preparing to have their children...Renji is...overwhelmed."

"I think that someone else is as well," Unohana said pointedly, "But whatever the case, you must eat and rest properly and try to do something to relieve the stress. I am placing you on leave so that..."

"You cannot do that," Byakuya objected, "All of the other affected taichous are still working. Renji will know that..."

"I am afraid that I have no choice in the matter," explained the healer, "The examination I did also revealed that the stress is placing pressure on your spirit centers. They weren't healed that long ago and they still require care. Between that and your pregnancy, you are in no condition to be in combat."

"Then, I will avoid combat. But I cannot abandon my work, at a time when so many are affected by what happened."

"I understand that," said the healer, "But, my first concern is to do what I can to protect your health. I will clear you for desk duty, but no physical training except taking leisurely walks to stretch your legs, and no overtime. You need to work reasonable hours."

"You and I both know how likely that is," Byakuya said, shaking his head.

"Kuchiki taichou," Unohana said solemnly, "I don't know how to impress upon you the importance of following my instructions. I want the best outcome for you. And I know that you want to have a healthy baby, and to be healthy yourself. Now, I am removing you from duty for five days."

"No."

"Kuchiki taichou..."

"Three days at most," he said, shaking his head, firmly, "Renji knows that we are evacuating the manor. It will not seem strange to him that I am not working."

Unohana shook her head firmly.

"I don't know how to get this through to you, Byakuya-san," she said, startling him by using his given name to address him, "You need to tell your husband about your condition. Do you not remember how you thought it was a mistake in the end to hold back about the problem with your spirit centers?"

"I have not forgotten," Byakuya assured her, "But...I have tried several times to tell Renji what is happening. Things just keep getting in the way. Circumstances have not allowed us to..."

"You know that is not true," the healer said in a way that made him stop and just gaze quietly back at her, "Yes, things have been chaotic. And I do believe that you tried to tell him. But...had you been determined to do so, knowing you as I do, I know that it would have been done by now. As much as circumstances have not worked in your favor, you have been quick to back away, haven't you? You have been avoiding telling him."

Unohana's eyes captured his, and Byakuya felt as though his mind had been laid bare before her.

"You have been relieved that the chaos has kept this from coming out. You might think about why that is...and then you must do something about it. You cannot keep going on like this. For one thing, you know that your bonding is critical. Abarai taichou's current pregnancy is different in that it does not require the bonding, but your baby does require it. And conducting it secretly as your husband sleeps...without him knowing...Byakuya-san, it is risky. Take now, for example. He is out on the battlefield. We do not know how long he is going to be gone. What of your bonding now?"

Byakuya swallowed hard.

"Renji will be back soon," he said, hoping the words were true, "and I will tell him. It is just..."

He felt Unohana's gentle hand touch his and stopped.

"It is just that the situation that has arisen is breaking your heart, Byakuya-san. You love your husband, and the idea of him having a child with another man is difficult for you to bear. But the one you are most likely to turn to when you are in need is part of the problem, so you hold everything inside. This is why you feel the pressures you do. It is why your body is telling you that you have to change something."

Byakuya took a steadying breath and nodded briefly.

"I know," he whispered, "you are right. So...I will take three days off, and accept reduced duty. And when Renji arrives at the estate, I will tell him. But...if you see him before I do, then please do not say anything. I want to tell him, myself."

"Very well," said the healer, "I will not tell him. But you be sure that you do. I think that you will find that what Abarai taichou said before will be retracted swiftly once he knows. He was very eager to share this with you. And although things are chaotic now, I think that both of you will find things easier to bear with this bit of happiness to cheer you."

"Renji is having a child already...with _him_," Byakuya said, surprised at the lonely sound of the words.

"We do not know that, for certain," Unohana taichou reminded him, "Kuchiki taichou, we will not know the genetics of any of these babies until they are born. So do not let that distract you."

"But the only person who Renji remembers even speaking to that night after the party besides me was Hisagi fukutaichou. And I did not..."

"I know the methodical facts of the situation," Unohana said, stopping him, "But, I think that you cannot jump to conclusions. The whole manner and development of these 'full reiatsu babies' is vastly different and unique. I believe that all questions must be shelved until the babies are born and we can see which babies belong to whom. Until then..."

"I am perfectly willing to do that, but it is Renji who won't. He has convinced himself that Hisagi fukutaichou's baby is his, and he is falling all over himself to be there for that other man while I..."

Byakuya stopped himself forcibly, inhaling sharply in shock at his own words. Unohana taichou gazed at him sympathetically.

"Kuchiki taichou," she said sadly, "You are obviously of two minds."

Byakuya stared back at her wordlessly, sickness rising inside him.

"I...will not be jealous of that man," the noble insisted, his lips tightening stubbornly.

"You fight that jealously tooth and nail, I am sure," the healer said, touching his face and sending calming reiatsu into his tensed form, "But...even so, it tears at you."

Byakuya felt sudden, hot tears in his eyes and a jolt of shock went through him at his very uncharacteristic loss of control.

Neither noticed as Renji appeared outside the door, then caught his breath softly as he caught sight of Byakuya wiping away an unbidden tear. He took a step back, biting his lip and closing his eyes as the conversation within the room continued.

"What is _wrong _with me?" Byakuya asked, the sick feeling inside him growing stronger, "I am not like this...so...weak...crying...jealous. Unohana taichou..."

"You are with child."

Outside the door, Renji's eyes opened and widened.

_Byakuya is...?_

Byakuya closed his eyes against the tears and shook his head firmly.

"It does not matter. I will not _be _ this way! I would rather..."

"Kuchiki taichou, you are fighting nature. It is only natural that one bearing a child will have strong feelings and losses of control. It is not a reflection on you."

"But it is!" Byakuya insisted, "I am nothing_ like_ this! It is _intolerable!_ I cannot believe that Renji _wanted me this way_! It is disgraceful!"

"But it is not a complete surprise," the healer reminded him, "When Abarai taichou was pregnant, was he not similarly affected?"

"Yes, he was, but..."

"And yet, you loved him no less, ne? You told yourself, 'He is merely with child and will be himself again after,' did you not? You did not hold it against him or think him weak, did you?"

"N-no, no, of course not!" Byakuya said stridently, "But I am _not _Renji! He is volatile to begin with. Passionate. It makes sense that he would be like that. But, I am...!"

"The head of the Kuchiki household? A taichou? The coldly analytical, _Kuchiki Byakuya_?"

"I..."

"You are so hard on yourself," said Unohana, giving him a patient smile, "Quite cruel, really."

"Because this is not me. It is the farthest thing from me! And...I did not _want_ this! Renji wanted me this way. And I have to wonder. Was it because he really wanted me to be this way, or was it that he _wished_ that I could be this way, but could only make it happen by..."

He broke off as a blazing flash step sounded, and he found himself being gathered into strong, blood streaked and tattooed arms. The dizzying reality of Renji wrapped around him and the redhead's hot lips sought his, freezing him in place and leaving him instantly speechless. Renji kissed him repeatedly, almost to the point of denying him the courtesy of breathing, then pulled back, licking his lips and sighing.

"Shut up, will you?" he chuckled softly, "How could you say something like that?

"Renji!" Byakuya said in a frustrated tone, lowering his eyes and turning his head away, "I am...sorry. I did not mean..."

"The hell you didn't!" Renji exclaimed, smirking.

"Wh-what?" Byakuya stammered, confusion muddling his handsome features, "Renji?"

The redhead continued to hold him tightly, capturing his face with one hand and shaking his head with mock disapproval.

"Byakuya," he said, affection plain in every word, "Do you honestly think that _I don't know_ that getting pregnant was probably about the last thing you would really wanna do? Really? I _knew_ you didn't want to carry a kid...no surprise there."

"But I...?"

"You said that you would," Renji affirmed, "But I knew you were just doing that for me. That you would do that...have a baby, because you knew it was important to me...makes it worth everything."

Byakuya's lips tightened rebelliously.

"For you, perhaps," he said, grudgingly, "If you only wanted to see me humiliated...changed into someone I am not. But perhaps that.."

"Hey, knock it off," Renji said, frowning, "I didn't do this to weaken you, to control you, or to change you into someone you're not. I just...I went through it, you know? And while I was pregnant, I would lie there sometimes and look at you while you were sleeping. And I'd think to myself, 'Gods, he'd be cute...adorable..._fucking beautiful_ carrying our baby!' That's what made me ask you...not the rest of that shit you dreamed up."

"It was more like a nightmare," admitted the noble, "This is..."

"Yeah, I know," said the redhead, hugging him tightly and kissing him again, "You told me already."

"But Renji, you said that now wasn't the time," Byakuya objected, "When I tried to tell you."

"Shit," Renji mused, laughing at his own cluelessness, "I completely misunderstood. But don't misunderstand me, Kuchiki Byakuya. I love you. And I am _thrilled_ that you are having my baby. And if it's all right with your 'keeper' here, I'm gonna take you to the living world estate and spoil the fucking hell outta you now."

"Until your other 'bearer' calls?" Byakuya asked, lifting a fine eyebrow.

He caught himself a moment to late and colored slightly.

"I...am sorry. That was..."

"That was my jealous lover, telling me that he _doesn't want to share me with anyone!_" Renji said affectionately.

"But that is so petty. I shouldn't have said that."

"Well," said Renji, "I might have a problem if you said it in front of Shuu and hurt the guy's feelings, especially while he's all messed up already. But hey, when we're alone at home, you can be as jealous as you want, and I won't hold it against you."

Byakuya felt his lips curving upward before he could stop them.

"That's better," said the redhead, "Now, Unohana taichou, can I take my lovely husband home and make love to him right now, or will that just be likely to have him swooning again?"

"_Abarai!_"

"Well, that's how you got yourself brought here, ne? I heard you scared the tar outta Tora."

"Kuchiki taichou is free to go...and romantic exertions are permissible. But...I insist that he should take five days off..."

"Three," Byakuya said firmly.

"Sorry," Renji said, shaking his head, "The lady said _five_, so it's five, lover."

"You do not _order _me!" snapped the noble, "And besides, me taking more time off, means you going out and getting beaten up even more than you are already. Neither one of us should be out fighting."

"Well, neither should the rest of the _fabulous babymakers club_, ne?"

"Renji..."

"It's settled. We're going to the living world estate and I am taking you to bed, right now. Then, you are taking five days off and..."

He glances meaningfully at the healer.

"You must eat and rest properly and see to your bonding," she recommended.

"We will," said Renji, scooping up the sputtering and resistant noble.

"Renji, put me down at once!" he ordered his smirking mate.

"No way," he laughed, "I'm not letting you out of my grasp for a second. You're too much of a handful for everybody else. You require someone with an iron will and a lotta patience, you know?"

"Oh, will Tetsuya be caring for me, then?" Byakuya said, sarcastically.

"Bite your tongue, mister...and hang on. I'm not coming back for you if you fall off somewhere!"

"Abarai!"

He went quiet again as Renji's arms held him tightly and the redhead flash stepped away, quickly leaving the healing center behind them.


	12. The Oasis

**Chapter 12: The Oasis**

"Daddy Bya! Daddy Ren!" shouted Akitora, tearing herself away from Takao and Kiko as Renji nudged the front door closed and set Byakuya back on his feet, "You're here!"

She barreled into Renji's arms, giving him a strangling hug, then reached over to offer Byakuya a gentler version.

"Are you feeling better now, Daddy Bya?" she asked, feeling his forehead, "You're a little warm, but that could be because it's a warm day. Did you know that Urahara-san's shop was destroyed because Kurosaki Ichigo's papa found out that Urahara-san and Ichigo-kun were doing something that only grownups are supposed to do...then, only if you're married?"

"Akitora," said Byakuya, lifting an eyebrow, "What have I told you about listening in to adult conversations?"

"Er, sorry, Nii-sama," Tetsuya said, stepping into the entryway, "I'm afraid that it was my fault that she overheard that. I wanted to stop in and see Ichigo-kun and some friends and..."

"When we went out of the senkaimon, we had to come out in the basement because everything was under destruction."

"That's _con_struction," Takao reminded her.

He scowled as the girl stuck out her tongue at him.

"Akitora," Byakuya said, warningly.

"Sorry, Daddy Bya," she said, sounding unapologetic, "But now that you're here, you are supposed to rest, mister. So let me show you to your room. Come this way."

"What? Are you the butler now?" quipped Renji, grinning as he swept a flustered Byakuya off his feet again and carried him down the hallway.

"Renji, put me down at once!" Byakuya snapped, "I am the clan leader and need to at least attempt to look the part. This is not...dignified!"

"You're having my baby, beautiful!" Renji exclaimed proudly, "You don't have to..."

"WHAT?" Akitora yelled her eyes rounding, "YOU KNOCKED ON DADDY BYA?"

Tetsuya, Tomio and Renji couldn't hold back their laughter. Takao looked at Akitora and rolled his eyes in annoyance and Kiko clasped her hands together and went wide-eyed.

"Are you crazy?" the heir went on, glaring up at Renji, "I heard him tell you loud and clear that he didn't think it was proper for the clan leader to waddle like a drunk duck!"

Tetsuya and Tomio covered their mouths and laughed harder as Takao sighed and shook his head, frowning.

"Didn't someone just tell you that you shouldn't be listening in on grownup...?"

"Oh, shut up, you stupid, annoying brat!" Akitora exclaimed, "Or I'm gonna flatten you!"

She punctuated the words by abandoning her fathers and bearing down on the boy threateningly.

"Tell me to mind _my_ own business!" Akitora hissed, her eyes glowing golden, "But you won't keep your damn nose out of mine."

"Akitora!" Byakuya said sternly, struggling out of Renji's arms, "Stop that at once!"

"Stay away from me, you brat!" yelled Takao, backing away.

"Takao, that is enough. Come, let's..." Tetsuya began.

"Aaaah, Dad!" Takao complained, trying to duck behind the blue-eyed noble.

"GRR! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I can't take your shit anymore!" the girl cried, taking the startled boy to the floor in a heap and pummeling him with both hands.

"OW! Get off me, you brat!" yelled Takao, "Dad! Dad, get her off me!"

"I'll teach you to cross me...HEY!" the girl cried as Renji flash stepped to the two and dragged the kicking and growling heir away from her stunned cousin.

"Knock it off, Tora!" Renji snapped angrily.

"I wanna POUND him for telling me what to do. I'm full up to HERE with it!" Tora shouted.

"All right," Renji said angrily, "There's only one thing that gets through to you when you pull this crap. You're going in the pool!"

"NO! No, Daddy Ren! Stop it! Put me down! Put me down!" the girl yelled, her face turning red and her small hands balled into fists and pounding against the redhead's shoulder.

Takao sat up, smirking, which both earned him a reprimand from Tomio and Tetsuya, and sent the girl into hysterics as Renji carried her out the back door and heaved her into the swimming pool. The fully clothed girl splashed down into the water, still yelling, then surfaced, took a huge breath and howled in fury. Renji stood at the side of the pool with his arms crossed, glaring at Tora, his red-brown eyes stern.

"You come out of there and you'd better be calmed down, or I'll throw you right back in again," he warned her.

The girl's golden eyes snapped with fury and the bright red ends of her black hair glowed threateningly, but as Byakuya came out the door and stood beside Renji, his gray eyes darkened and his reiatsu raised warningly, she went quiet and swam to the edge of the pool, still shaking with more restrained fury as she climbed out and stood, dripping wet, in front of them.

"You ready to calm down and listen now?" Renji asked, frowning.

Akitora's jaw clenched and her hands remained curled into fists, but she blinked the water out of her eyes and nodded stiffly.

"Akitora," Byakuya said in a calm, but stern voice, "I know that things have been difficult lately, and that tempers are high, but that is no excuse for this kind of behavior."

The girl's lips quivered rebelliously and her face scrunched up slightly with the effort of holding back her still flaring emotions, but she stood proudly on shaky legs as Byakuya continued.

"You are to go with your attendant, change your clothes, and when you come to the table for lunch, you are to have resolved your issues so that there are no outbursts. And Gia," he said to the attendant, "Please keep Akitora confined in her room until lunchtime. She may read quietly or sit and think things through, but she is to have no visitors."

"Yes, Kuchiki-sama," said the waiting attendant.

"And Gia?"

"Sir?"

"You are to inform us at once if our daughter in any way disobeys you."

"Yes, Kuchiki-sama."

She turned to Akitora with her eyes carefully lowered and a serious expression on her face.

"Come along Akitora-sama."

"Okay," the girl sighed, lowering her head dejectedly.

She was careful not to look at Takao as she passed him just inside the house doors.

"Ah, well," muttered Renji, "That put a little damper on the mood of things, ne?"

Byakuya nodded.

They watched as Tomio and Tetsuya led their children off, the latter reprimanding Takao in a soft, but stern voice. Takao bit his lips and cringed at the words, but accepted them without argument, then bowed his head and turned to go to his room. Kiko scampered after her fathers, complaining.

"Who am I supposed to talk to now? Tora-sama is in trouble and Takao is in trouble. There isn't anybody not in trouble around here!"

"I will go for a walk with you, Kiko-chan," offered Matsuko, "The healer told me that walking is good as long as we go slowly."

"That's okay," said the sweet-faced, blue-eyed girl affably, "If I walk slow, I see more of different kinds of flowers and things."

Renji shook his head as the two walked away.

"Why can't our kid be calmer like that?" he muttered.

Byakuya raised an elegant eyebrow.

"Renji, are you _really_ asking me that question?" he sighed.

The redhead chuckled.

"I guess I shouldn't," he agreed, "but damn..."

"Do not agonize over it. We should just be relieved that conflict is over and enjoy the peace while we can."

"That's right," said Renji, giving the noble a smoldering look, "And I believe that 'A,' we have a few hours before Tora's let loose again and 'B,' Unohana taichou said that it was okay for us to have a little fun together. You with me?"

Byakuya gave him a disarming smile.

"I am yours, Renji," he said quietly, a blush rising on his skin.

The redhead slipped a hand into his, coaxing him down the hallway and into their large, well appointed suite. They adjourned to the dressing area, where Renji caught his lovely mate around the waist and kissed him on the side of the neck.

"Here," he whispered, warming the noble's throat with his breath and sending sweet chills through him, "Let me undress you."

Byakuya stood quietly, a gentle half-smile on his face, watching the full-length mirror in front of him as he was slowly and lovingly bared. The redhead's fingers tugged the belt at his waist, making only a whisper of sound as it slipped free. His clothing fell open in front, a gradual reveal of a sea of pale, porcelain skin laid over fine carved bone. And the opening sent a soft breath of sakura over their senses, making Renji close his eyes and breathe in deeply while his warm hands slid beneath the fine material, running down over the noble's slender torso and downward to caress the soft, as of yet slim belly as the redhead's amorous eyes opened again and found Byakuya's in the mirror.

"I used to think that 'beautiful' was just a word," he whispered into the noble's ear, making Byakuya's eyes close and his breath go slow and silent, "It was a word I saved for the best of things, the ones that went above and beyond, but the truth is, that's just the beginning of what beautiful is. And 'beautiful' is more than just a word...it's a state of being."

Byakuya felt a lovely quiver inside as Renji's hands continued to play over his soft abdomen and the pleasing words continued in his ear.

"To me, beautiful is embodied in you, and I'm not just talking about that sexy, silky hair that tickles when it touches me, or your eyes that can scare the living hell out of me, make me shiver inside or fucking make me melt all over the place like butter. It's in that pretty mouth of yours that can be prideful, spiteful, jealous or angry one minute, but can soften, soothe, tease and love me the next. It's in these strong arms that move so gracefully whether they are wrapping around me to hold, to caress, to protect, to calm or to love. These arms are the only ones that I ever want wrapped around my naked body and your hands are the only ones I want to have touch me. It's your eyes I want to eat me alive, your breath and words that I want in my ears and your taste I want on my tongue, always, Byakuya."

Byakuya took in a soft, quivering breath and opened his eyes, slowly lifting them to meet the intensity if Renji's loving red-brown ones. And as strong as he was, a tremor passed through him at the sheer magnitude of emotion he saw reflected there.

"And if I thought that you were beautiful before," the redhead went on, "I learned that word's true meaning when Unohana taichou said that you were having my baby. The idea that you would take something of me inside you, and give something yourself, to make something so wonderful as a baby of the two of our bodies is just such an amazing thing to me, Byakuya. You know what family means to me...and for you to let this piece of our family come to life inside you...it makes 'beautiful' seem like an inadequate word."

"Renji..."

The redhead's fingers touched his lips lightly, stopping him. He stared back at Renji, the blush on his face and throat deepening and his heart fluttering sweetly inside his chest.

"Shh," Renji whispered, lifting him off of his feet and carrying him, bridal style, to the bed, where he laid his now naked spouse on his back, fully exposed and in a vulnerable, spread-legged position.

"You are a strong man, Byakuya," Renji went on, "And I think that the most sexy and loving thing that a strong man can do is to let himself become vulnerable to his lover."

He captured a pale hand and brought it to rest on his inflamed member.

_"This_ is how much it gets to me when you do this for me," Renji said, his words and the impact of those intense, fiery eyes making Byakuya's heart pound more furiously.

The redhead stopped speaking and let his loosened clothes fall to the floor. He climbed onto the bed and knelt between Byakuya's parted thighs. He smiled down at his lovely, blushing mate with gripping hunger and passion in his piqued expression. Abandoning words, he placed his hands on either side of the noble's torso and bowed forward, bringing his lips to Byakuya's lower abdomen and placing a tender kiss over their developing child.

"Thank you for this, Byakuya," the redhead whispered, kissing the noble's belly again and smiling at the strong reaction in Byakuya's dark eyes, "I love you so much for doing this."

He didn't wait for an answer, but continued to kiss his way downward, following the line of fine black hairs to where they blossomed into a nest of dark curls that framed the noble's swollen, damp arousal. He captured just a taste of the noble's lovely flesh, savoring it in his mouth as his fingers teased and he watched Byakuya's body twitch hungrily in reaction, as a soft moan issued from the man's parted lips.

"Renji," Byakuya whispered again, this time more wantonly, the sound licking at the flames already threatening to overwhelm the sweating redhead as he smiled and began to pleasure him, "Oh...Abarai..."

The latter words were barely audible, just breathed as the noble's smoldering eyes closed against the sensation and his fingers sank into the redhead's thick mane, tightening as Renji's lips and tongue warmed him. Renji curled his tongue tightly, teasing erotically with his lips, stealing his breath away again.

"R-renji!" Byakuya panted.

Renji smiled, pulling away and watching Byakuya's pretty eyelids flutter as he kissed his way down deeper, pausing to savor his lover's warm, soft skin, before pushing Byakuya's legs open wider and moving downward even further to seek the noble's waiting entrance. Byakuya groaned as he felt Renji's eyes staring, then his breath caught and his heart skipped, his eyes closing against the hard twinges of lust, as the redhead moved closer and teased him with the tip of his searching tongue. One hand caressed Byakuya's flushed privates as Renji's plundering tongue explored him relentlessly, sliding languidly along, pushing teasingly, then hardening and thrusting to taste and caress. He continued the heavy stimulation, looking up and smiling more widely as Byakuya's back arched in reaction, and he groaned feverishly, his head falling back and silken hair spilling haphazardly around his head. The sight of his lover that way...the man who was usually so much under his stiff controls, relaxing and letting himself lose those controls...sent Renji's head spinning, and before he quite realized what he was doing, he had pulled away and dragged the panting noble onto his lap.

Byakuya's lovely, bowed head fell onto his shoulder, and pearly teeth sank into the skin there as Renji's hands gripped the dark haired man's white bottom and positioned him. He bit his lip, closing his eyes and trying to move slowly, so as not to cause pain as he entered the noble. But Byakuya nipped impatiently at his shoulder, and Renji sucked in a surprised breath as the noble's body dropped down and seemed to swallow him whole. Byakuya's body recoiled in reaction, then shocked the still reeling redhead by beginning to move again almost immediately.

Renji's hips bucked upward in reaction, and fell into rhythm with the fast rise and fall of his lover's. He met the noble's mouth for an exchange of hard, penetrating kisses, plunging in and savoring his lover's delectably sweet lips and tongue, as their bodies raged hotly against each other, building heat that swirled and grew inside them, until it could be contained no more and finally erupted.

Byakuya gasped against his shoulder, quivering warningly as Renji struck at the sensitive nerves inside him, sending him tumbling out of control and into the hard, hot pulses of release. He fell back, pulling Renji down on top of him, moaning and thrashing and so enchanting in the throes of orgasm that the redhead barely registered the pleasant jolts of his own climax. He watched breathlessly, his heart pounding as the noble's body quivered and shook forcefully, then fell still beneath him, sweat misting the fine, pale skin and his dark eyes hazed and blinking.

"You know," he whispered, making Byakuya's dark eyes blink again and fix on him, "If we could just stay in bed all of the time..."

He groaned at the arrival of, not one, but two hell butterflies, both for him.

Byakuya smiled tolerantly.

"It is fine, Renji," he said, still a bit breathless from their joining, "We would need time to gather ourselves for another joining anyway."

Renji shook his head and sighed in annoyance.

"Abarai taichou," said Unohana taichou's pleasant voice from within the first butterfly, "I thought that you would want to know that Hisagi fukutaichou has been admitted to the fourth division with severe pains and has lost consciousness. As we suspect that the child might be yours and Hisagi-san has made you his choice to make his medical decisions if he is incapacitated, we need you to report to the healing center as soon as possible to discuss his situation."

Renji swallowed hard and bit his lip gently. Byakuya gazed at him questioningly.

"Eh...I knew that he had made me the one to make his medical decisions," the redhead admitted, "but I wasn't expecting that I would need to, you know..."

"Renji, it's all right," Byakuya said calmly, "Even if not for this situation, Hisagi-san is your friend, and he has entrusted this to you."

"Byakuya, it doesn't mean that I was..."

"I understand," said the noble, meeting Renji's eyes squarely, "But it sounds like his needs are serious. And I am content to busy myself with other things until you return."

The noble shook his head reprovingly at the guilty expression on Renji's face.

"Do not make things worse by tormenting yourself."

Renji sighed.

"All I want to do is to be with the one love of my life," he complained, "How come the rest of the fucking world just doesn't get that?"

"It doesn't matter," Byakuya said, kissing him warmly, "Now, go. I will be here when you return."

"Okay," Renji said ruefully, "But can you do me a favor?"

"Hmmm?"

"Could you, like...not be so accommodating? How about a little bit of jealousy? Get sort of mad at me or something. This angel act you've got going is really too painful. I feel like a complete shit for..."

"Stop," the noble said, touching Renji's lips with a pale fingertip, "I assure you, I am rankled that you are going to him, that he chose you for this...for many things. I am merely putting them aside because I remember what is most important...and that is, to let nothing take us away from each other."

Renji gazed at him in silence for a moment, then tackled him and kissed him furiously. He swatted at the second hell butterfly, sending it flitting away to hover, just out of his reach.

"Abarai taichou," said the head captain's voice.

"Hey!" complained the redhead, throwing a pillow at the insect, "I wasn't ready!"

"As soon as you have seen to your fukutaichou, you will need to report to the second division to receive information regarding the threat of infiltration by powerful hollows. As before, this appears to have come up because of the issues with the taichous and fukutaichous having become pregnant, and needs to be headed off quickly. The second division spies have learned that attacks or abductions of the non-pregnant taichous may be a goal of theirs to set the stage for a larger invasion. You will meet with Soi fon taichou as soon as possible to address this situation."

"Shit," muttered Renji, "That sounds serious."

"Why don't you allow me to go to the second and..."

"Nope," said the redhead, shaking his head firmly, "You are on bed rest, mister. You are not going anywhere! Lie down, and don't make me have to get Matsuko and Makoto to 'double team' you. I will if I have to."

"Ah, no such measures are necessary," Byakuya said, frowning, "I only intended to take the information and do some research. That would hardly be taxing."

"Uh-uh!" Renji insisted, "You move outta that bed and I am going to tie you down. Got it?"

"I would like to see you try," the noble said, his reiatsu darkening rebelliously, "however, as I am actually a bit weary after our exertions, I will make myself content here, for now."

"Good," said Renji, giving him a peck on the lips, "I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

Byakuya nodded.

"I hope that your friend is all right."

"Thanks," the redhead said, sincerely.

Byakuya watched quietly as Renji left, then sighed and slid down into the pile of soft pillows on the bed. The redhead paused on the way out to speak to Matsuko, to make sure that his stubborn lover would rest, then he flash stepped away, not noticing the odd, yellow eyes that observed from a clump of bushes.

"That was Abarai taichou," said a rasping voice, "He is on the list of the 'affected,' but his mate is not."

"We shall have to strike while he is not here," hissed a second voice.

"But we wait until we have the signal to move," said the first, "There are a lot of people here. We do not want to attract attention...not until we have deprived the Gotei 13 of the rest of its active taichous and fukutaichous. We wait for now."

"We wait for now," agreed the second, watching closely as Matsuko passed nearby, holding Kiko's hand and leading her along the garden trail.


	13. The Invasion

**Chapter 13: The Invasion**

**(And from out of the lost, cobwebbed archives, this one is FINALLY revived! Enjoy all. Spunky loves you! Thanks to everyone who pleaded with me to continue. Your holiday wishes are happily granted! Love, Spunky)**

Kuchiki Akitora came awake suddenly, some kind of sound echoing in her ears, but unsure whether the sound had been real or just part of the dream that she had been having. She held her breath for a moment, looking around in the darkness and frowned at the absence of the attendant who had been stationed at her door.

"Gia?" she whispered, her golden eyes widening and tiny flickers of reiatsu lighting the red ends of her raven hair.

She inhaled in surprise as a swift flash step sounded and a small hand clapped itself over her mouth.

"Mmnph, T-k!"

"Shh!" Takao's voice hissed very softly in her ear, "Someone got into the house. They're coming this way!"

He pulled his hand away from Tora's frowning mouth and pointed to where a wide-eyed Kiko peeked out from an opened vent in the wall.

"Come quickly!"

"B-but Daddy Bya!"

"Byakuya-sama is all right. They just tied him up, but they hurt Daddy Tetsuya!" Kiko sobbed in a whisper.

"They tied up most of the grownups in our fathers' room," Takao reported, "But Byakuya-sama, they separated from everyone. We heard some fighting and Gia-san went to see what was happening. It's really bad. I think they are hollows!"

"I saw through the vent," Kiko added in a shaky voice, "They hit Daddy Tetsuya really hard and he's bleeding!"

"Kiko!" Akitora whispered, hugging her cousin and muffling the sound of her soft sobs.

"It's okay," Takao said soothingly, rubbing his sister's back gently, "Daddy Tomio won't let Daddy Tetsuya die. He's helping him. He has good healing ability."

Akitora and Takao exchanged worried glances.

"But what should we do, Tora?" he asked worriedly, "We can't fight them all. Should we try to slip out?"

"But then Daddy Bya will be left with them!" Akitora hissed, "I can't leave. You take Kiko and go to Urahara-san's shop. It's not far and you know the way."

"We're not going to leave you here!" insisted Takao, scowling.

"I can take care of myself, stupid! And you're forgetting who is the heir. In an emergency, you have to do what I say!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Takao snapped, "I don't care if you order to have me tortured! A man does not leave his comrades behind. I'm not leaving!"

"But we can't all stay," Kiko objected, "Someone has to go and find help!"

She looked at the two other children and shivered, then stiffened slightly.

"I will go by myself," Kiko announced.

"No! You can't..." Takao objected, "What if they see you?"

"Arashi is outside. If I can get to him, he can make us invisible and we can get help."

"Good thinking!" Tora said, patting the other girl on the shoulder, "Just be really, really careful, okay?"

"The vent that opens into the gardens is that way," Takao directed his sister, "There will probably be guards, so be real careful, okay?"

"I can do it," Kiko assured him, "I'm not scared as long as I find Arashi."

"Yeah, he'll protect you. I'll stay with Tora and we'll watch them."

"Just don't let them see you either, Nii-san!" Kiko said, hugging her sibling, then Tora, "I will get help here as soon as I can!"

Takao and Tora watched as Kiko crept down the shaft and disappeared into the darkness, then Takao motioned towards another shaft to their right.

"If we go that way, we can get to the rooms where they are holding the others."

"Where is Daddy Bya?" Tora whispered.

"He is this way too," Takao informed her, "He is just in a different room."

The two knelt and crawled into the smaller access, muffling their coughs in the sleeves of their clothing as the dust they disturbed assaulted them.

"Ugh," Takao groaned softly, "This is disgusting."

"For once, I agree with you," Tora sighed, holding the end of a sleeve over her face, "But we have to keep going or they might hurt Daddy Bya before we can rescue him."

"H-hey," Takao said softly, "we're just supposed to watch them, remember? Kiko and Arashi will bring grownups to do the rescuing. If we interfere, we might get someone hurt."

"I'm not going to get anyone hurt, so get off your high horse and be quiet! They might hear you."

"They're more likely to hear you. You're talking too loud!"

"Shh!"

"You shh!"

"Shut up!" Tora hissed, the ends of her hair glowing warningly, "I am the heir and that means you do what I say!"

"I'm not going to let us die because you were stupid and acted hastily. You can tell me what to do, but Daddy Tetsuya said that it's okay to disobey to protect the life of the heir. He said sometimes we have to do that."

"I don't want you to protect me!" Tora snapped, "I can take care of myself. Just stay out of my way, Takao!"

The boy scowled furiously as his cousin crawled away from him.

"Baka!" he whispered to himself, "You're going to get everyone killed!"

"I _heard_ that!" Tora said sternly, "Get over here!"

Mumbling angrily to himself, Takao followed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kiko peered out of the small vent, looking left and right before silently unscrewing the vent cover and escaping the access. She crawled out and set the vent cover back in place, then, using the plants and flowers as cover, crept through the darkened gardens, her blue eyes wide and searching.

"Arashi?" she whispered, flinching as a twig cracked under her foot.

She froze as a large, shadowy hollow floated by, then scurried away, ducking under the brush and hiding behind trees as she searched for her father's stallion. Her eyes rounded even more as she spotted a large, lumpy form on the ground ahead of her. Her sharp eyes picked out fluffs of black mane and two small black ears.

"Arashi!" she sobbed softly, rushing forward.

Belatedly, she looked around and made sure they were alone, then she hurried to the collapsed horse.

"Arashi!" she whispered urgently.

She laid her hands on the horse, biting at her lips and concentrating until a small amount of green healing energy emerged and sank into Arashi's body. For several excruciating minutes, the horse only laid still, barely breathing. Then, he winced and loosed a soft groan.

"Shh! Quiet, Arashi!" Kiko warned him, "They caught everyone in the house. You and I have to escape to Urahara-san's shop. We have to get help!"

Arashi snorted softly and shivered, nuzzling the little girl as he moved his front feet and slowly struggled to his feet. He swayed unsteadily for a moment, then nuzzled Kiko's cheek and lowered himself slightly so that she could scramble onto his back.

"Good boy, Arashi," Kiko said, patting his shoulder.

The stallion nickered and loosed a small golden rope that tied the girl carefully into place on his back. He looked around, then invoked his power, causing a soft flicker of blue light as the two slowly faded into a nearly invisible waterform.

"Hey!" yelled a loud voice, "the horse is up!"

"Damn it! I thought you said you killed that thing."

"I thought I did."

"Well, you're a moron. Go and find them!"

"Be careful, Arashi," Kiko whispered, watching the two hollows as they began striking the bushes with their swords.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, you big, stupid brute!" one of the hollows taunted him.

"Don't listen to him. Let's go!" Kiko hissed.

Beneath her, Arashi stiffened, his bright blue eyes flashing dangerously and his nostrils flaring.

"Come on, you dirty, fleabitten little shit," the hollow sneered, "I'll roast your ass again. How do you like that?"

Arashi snorted angrily and stamped his foot.

"Arashi, no!"

Blue light swelled around the stallion, illuminating his body for a moment.

"There you are, you sneaky son of a...!"

Arashi expelled a heavy volley of deadly ice blades into the faces of the two approaching hollows, killing them instantly, but setting off the estate alarms.

"Now you've done it!" Kiko cried, "Run, Arashi! We have to get to Urahara-san fast!"

Reclaiming his waterform, Arashi concealed the two from the group of hollows that emerged from the house and charged towards the estate gates.

"Oh no!" Kiko howled, "The gates! Arashi, the gates are closed! Arashi, no! It's too high!"

The stallion screamed and raced forward, bunching himself, then flinging himself into the air and flash stepping wildly. Kiko shut her eyes tightly and clung to the horse's back as the stallion's feet barely cleared the spiky top of the structure and he came down roughly on the other side. He stumbled slightly, then recovered himself and galloped away with Kiko holding on for dear life.

"Hurry Arashi!" Kiko panted breathlessly, "We have to hurry!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Unohana taichou," Renji greeted the healer, studying the look on her face and frowning uncertainly, "What's going on? Is Shuuhei all right?"

"Oh, Hisagi-san is going to be fine. He is still unconscious, but Rangiku-san is with him."

"Rangiku?" Renji mused, "Well, it's good he has a friend there, but I should..."

"You will want to wait a moment," the healer said, laying a hand on his arm, "I have something important to tell you."

"Oh?"

Unohana nodded and motioned for him to sit down in a chair in front of her desk. Renji sat down and gazed back at her curiously as she sought the files laid out on her desk and picked up one of them.

"That's Rukia's file, isn't it?" Renji asked, "Why are you...?"

"It has been frustrating," the healer said, interrupting him, "trying to figure out what happened at that party that got so many people pregnant. It took a long time, but it was Rukia-chan's case that finally enlightened me."

"I don't understand. What do you mean?" Renji asked.

"I have been trying very hard to figure out how, when Rukia-chan was only with a woman, she became pregnant too...and for a long time, I could get no answers, because it seemed I could not take the risk of sampling the reiatsu in each person's body. But when your friend, Hisagi-san, collapsed and was brought in, I found that there were some useful traces of reiatsu on the outside of the spirit chamber that had formed inside him. I was able to collect some of that reiatsu and to compare it with your reiatsu."

"And..." Renji queried, his heart quickening, "are you saying you confirmed I am the father or..."

"No. You are not the father of Hisagi-san's baby," the healer announced.

"B-but...!"

"You remember that Rangiku-san was also with Hisagi-san."

"But that's not...!"

"It seems that the compound that was ingested by everyone at the party was able to affect females as well."

"Huh?" Renji said, staring blankly.

Unohana smiled enigmatically and touched Rukia's file with her fingertips.

"Inoue Orihime was with Rukia-chan," the healer explained, "and when I went back and collected a sample from around the spirit chamber in her, I was able to determine the parents are Rukia-chan and Orihime-chan!"

"Wh-what?" Renji mused, looking bewildered, "You wanna run that by me again?"

Unohana laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

"You are not the father of Hisagi-san's child," she said with certainty, "It was Rangiku-san's reiatsu that was bound to Hisagi-san's...and they were very, very happy when I told them."

Renji started to smile in relief, but the smile faded quickly.

"What is it?" the healer asked, "I thought that this would be a relief to you."

"It is," Renji assured her, "But...what about the baby in me? Remember, I...uh...I..."

"You were with Byakuya that night and you impregnated him."

"But he didn't..."

"If a woman can give reiatsu in the exchange and still make her partner pregnant, as happened with Rukia-chan, then your baby could be either Hisagi-san's of Byakuya-san's. But the test to find out is very simple and not invasive. I can conduct it right now, if you wish."

"Can you please?" Renji pleaded, "I want this nightmare to be over and for Byakuya and me to get our lives back. Things have been crazy ever since all of this baby business started. Unohana taichou, please, if you can just stop this, _I'll_ have _your_ baby! Well, not really, but..."

"I understand. Please come with me."

Renji followed the healer out of her office and down the hallway to an empty treatment room.

"Lie down on your back and open your top, please," Unohana directed him, turning away, then turning back, holding a large syringe in her hand.

"Ugh," grunted the redhead, cringing and paling as the syringe came closer.

"It will just take a moment."

Sickness welled up in Renji's belly, but he shut his eyes tightly and forced himself to keep breathing.

"This is for Byakuya. I'm not gonna..."

But as much as he tried, he couldn't quite hang on to consciousness as the needle sank into his belly. Unohana taichou giggled to herself, shaking her head and looking down at Renji affectionately as she collected the necessary reiatsu. She placed the sample in a small vial, then patted Renji's hand.

"All done, Abarai taichou," she said, smiling.

Renji gave no answer.

"Abarai taichou?" the healer said again, letting out a sigh as she realized he was unconscious, "Oh my..."

Renji woke a short time later and sat up too quickly, sending his head into a spin as Unohana taichou entered the room.

"Are you feeling better?" the healer asked kindly.

"Y-yeah, but I'll feel even better if you have good news for me. Please, tell me that..."

"You and Byakuya-san are your child's parents," the healer confirmed.

"Oh kami, _thank you_!" Renji sobbed gratefully, "You don't know how relieved I am!"

"And I imagine that Byakuya-san will also be relieved. Perhaps now the two of you can focus on the new children coming into your family."

"Yeah," Renji said, beaming happily, "Yeah, we can. Byakuya's going to be so happy. I can't wait to tell him! Can I go now?"

"You can go," Unohana said, nodding, "Just mind that you take care of yourself."

Renji burst out of the room, slowing for a moment and smiling as he spotted Rangiku sitting with Shuuhei, then dashing out of the healing center. He flash stepped to the central senkaimon and raced through the precipice world, emerging into Urahara Kisuke's underground training area. He climbed out into the wreckage of the shop and stared.

"Hey Renji," Kisuke greeted him.

"Whoa!" the redhead mused, studying the wrecked shop.

"Ah..." the shopkeeper chuckled, "It was Kurosaki Isshin. He was a little pissed when he learned that Ichigo and I were _together_. Kinda hypocritical, seeing as how he knocked up Uryu's father..."

Renji laughed and shook his head.

"And I thought _my _life was kinda fucked up..."

He started to say more, but went silent as a large black stallion appeared in the distance and raced towards them, carrying a small child on his back.

"Arashi?" Renji whispered.

"He's got Tetsuya and Tomio's girl, Kiko!" Urahara exclaimed as the horse thundered up to them and skidded to a stop.

"Kiko! What's wrong?" Renji asked, shattering the kido on the horse and freeing the child.

"H-hollows have broken into the house and they hurt my Daddy Tetsuya and tied everyone up! Takao and Tora-sama are hiding in the vents and Takao and I saw everyone is tied up!"

"Hollows?" Kisuke muttered, "Attacking a noble estate? Even in the living world, that's weird."

"There's been a lot of chatter about an invasion," Renji said worriedly, "I wonder if this has something to do with it."

"Daddy Tetsuya is really hurt!" Kiko pleaded, "Please, Uncle Renji, you have to help them!"

"Don't you worry," Renji said, looking up at Kisuke, "I'm gonna go there right now."

"Be careful," Kisuke warned him, "If they're keeping hostages, things could get dangerous real fast."

"I won't do anything stupid," Renji promised, "but I have to be there for Byakuya. I haven't been able to do that since things got so crazy, but he needs me now and I am going to be there. One way or another, I'm going to protect Tora and him!"


End file.
